Bedtime Tamales and Other Inanities

So, last night, TMOTH gave The Small One her bedtime snack.  It is something she requires, or she can't sleep.  This is no joke.  Night before she sat up and talked and talked and talked and occasionally mentioned that she would like some cereal.  And then she talked some more.  Round about 11:30, I got fed up with her lack of sleep and got her some cereal.  She ate half the bowl and then promptly conked out.  Silly infant.
But back to last night's snack.  Tamales.  In my bed.  And I am not referring to the cinnamon candy.  Actual tamales.  Who eats tamales for bedtime snack in bed?  Seriously?  I mean, besides my daughter and maybe a sleepy Mexican or two.  I came in my room to find her happily ensconced in MY bed eating tamales.  And getting tamale goo EVERYWHERE.  All over my bed.  And I just changed the sheets last night.
Why was she eating tamales in my bed?  Well, I asked her.  Because, she tells me, she wanted tamales.  But why in my bed?  Well, she didn't want tamales in her bed. 
Oh.  That explains it.  If you are four years old.
I walked out and asked The Man of the House why he gave her tamales in my bed without laying down a protective sheet or, I don't know, feeding them to her in her bed.  He looked at me and said, Yeah, did not think about that.   Hmmm.
He politely came in and cleaned up the tamale goo from the bed.  But now my bed smells of Mexican food.  Which is a good smell if you are hungry and at Cafe Rio.  Not so much whilst attempting to wander off in slumber.

Lately, TMOTH and I have had a few people tell us they love to follow us on Facebook.  We look at them strangely and ask why.  They look at us strangely and say-Well, you two do the most interesting things.  Duh.  We look back at them (strangely, of course) and say-Really?  We think we are a smidge boring.
Tonight, one of those followers, who is also a friend, popped over to get eggs. 
Speaking of eggs, we currently have 7.5 dozen in the fridge.  Need any?
She wanted to see the redone room and the pottery wheel and the dollhouse.  So, I showed her.  Like most of you (admit it, it's true) I like to hear praise of my cleverness now and again.  She was properly effusive, then mentioned how she likes to follow me on aforementioned facebook and see all the things I do or teach The Small One to do.  She went on to say that she admired how willing I was to let The Small One try new things, and that some parents just can't handle the mess.
Well, if you came to my house, you would see that tidyness is hardly my strong point, so I can't really use that as an excuse to prevent her trying.  Also, my parents let me do things like that, so it would sort of be cheating to tell my daughter no.  That is how I learned, that is how she shall learn.
Besides, I like her enthusiasm.  Most of the time.
Then, talking to my mother about a quilt I am (very slowly) hand piecing, said mother mentioned that she does not like to do things like that, she would never finish.  And it occured to me that I don't do things specifically to finish. 
And then this quote came to mind.  And I think it describes my methodolgy perfectly.  Thank you, Adam Savage, for being awesome in more ways than one.

"I don’t make things in order to have finished objects. I have finished objects as a by-product of my need to always be making.” Adam Savage

It is true.  I absolutely have a need to always be making. 
TMOTH sometimes makes fun of me and my brother, who is very similar, because we have a lot of unfinished projects.  But that is the thing.  I don't create to have finished things.  I create to create.  The process is it for me.  I am a process knitter.  A process quilter.  And sadly, a process upholsterer and refinisher.  And redecorator.
This is not to say that I don't have finished objects, I absolutely do.  But the object is not the driving force.  The creating is.
And I realized, The Small One is very like me in that regard.  She likes to do.  And to learn.  She doesn't give a flying fig about the object.  The doing is what has her mesmerized.  And I love that about her.
Small One is hilarious as always.  She likes to use big words.  The other day she was telling TMOTH what was and was not "apporpiate" inside the house.  Playing with water?  NOT APPORPIATE inside.  In case you wondered.
When I had my tooth out and was laid up whining and moaning with pain, she told me she was mamma-sitting me.  She took care of me, brought me water and all sorts of snacks that I couldn't exactly eat.  But it was very sweet.  She would sit on the arm of the chaise and stroke my head.
I downloaded an app on my new Kindle Fire for her.  You register your kid by age and name and then it picks appropriate (or apporpiate) games, movies and books for them.  You can lock them in the app so they can't fiddle about with other things on the Kindle.  Very nice.  At the end of each week, it emails you a summary of what your child has been doing, what games they like to play, movies, sites they like to visit.  Do you want to know what it says her fave site is? 
BBC Kids.  Yep.  She is my kid.
Her second fave is PBS Kids.  I am so proud.

Inauspiciousness. Say that five times fast.

So, my New Year?   Did not get off to an auspicious start.  I hope yours was better.  I also hope that the previously mentioned inauspiciousness is not an omen for the rest of the year.  Because, if it is, I quit now.
Anyway, here is what happened. 
After the Christmas festivities ended, I found myself a bit loose-endish and my house more than a bit crowded.  The Small One had a giant new pottery wheel and a giant new dollhouse.  Where to put them?  The second half of our front room (which is a long narrow room) has been the sewing/Small One's crafty crap area for a few months.  What that means is that I have a desk with a sewing machine and a few untidy stacks of fabric on it.  And a knitting machine on the piano.  And The Small One has 2 bookshelves full of crafty crap.  Painting stuff, markers, crayons, pencils, paper, foamies, stickers, you name it, she probably has it.  Oh, and the floor was covered by some ratty carpet that never stayed clean, because you try to keep a carpet clean that a bunch of pre-schoolers use as an art space.  Not gonna happen.  Just sayin'. 
So, I got a bee in my bonnet about where on earth was the pottery wheel going to go where it would not cause havoc and despair on all things carpeted?  Nowhere.  Because there are only two uncarpeted rooms up here.  My room and the kitchen.  Yeah, no way.
I decided immediately to tear up the carpet in that room and expose the wood floor underneath.  Good idea!
Now, a few tidbits about my house.  
I live in a smallish town that was settled in 1853 (or thereabouts) by a bunch of Mormons sent on down from the Great Salt Lake City by Brigham Young.  They first settled in a fort, than moved out slowly to parcels of property round about said fort.  One dude settled on the plot of land on which I live.  He built a smallish log cabin over a soft rock foundation and set up his smithy.  As time wore on, he made more money and decided to enlarge said house.  Well, really, he knocked the cabin down and built an actual house.  The main room of the house was built over the soft rock cellar and the other two rooms built around.  This was in 1880-ish.  When he built the house, he didn't cheat.  Foot thick adobe walls finished with lathe and plaster.  9 foot ceilings.  And the floors.  Beautiful,old growth, heart pine floors. 
We found the first one when refinishing what was to be the nursery.  We intended to put hardwood floors in, but when we pulled up the carpet, we found VERY old linoleum, nailed to the floor and surrounded by a painted wood floor.  So, then we pulled up the linoleum, and Lo and Behold-a beautiful floor.
So, I figured that the wood probably extended into the other old rooms and asked the previous owner.  He confirmed my suspicions and I have been pestering TMOTH ever since to let me pull up the carpet in the "dining area".  He finally caved.
So, on Dec 29, I tore up the carpet, pulled up the nasty old linoleum, heaved up the nails and tack strip and was pleased with what I saw.  The next day, my tooth went haywire.  Bad.  Pain, oh, pain.  But I endured and began sanding the floor.  Got the main part of it done.  But the next day?  Ten times worse.  I could not handle the pain.  No dentists anywhere (it was New Year's Eve).  Finally, TMOTH called my GP at home and asked him to call in a prescription of LorTab so I could make it until Tuesday, when the dentists opened up again.
Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but they are not joking on that label when it says Do Not Drive or Operate Heavy Machinery While Using This Drug. 
I am such a lightweight.  Give me narcotics and I sort of float away.  While itching.  And talking non-stop. 
It is pathetic, really.  So, I was out for the count.  New Year's Eve?  No idea.  I was stoned.  Normally I watch the ball drop.  Nope.  Asleep by 10.  And I am pretty certain I slept the next 3 days.  Then I went and got the tooth pulled.  And slept for the next 7 days.  Seriously, I do not do painkillers well.
So, you can perhaps see what I mean about an inauspicious start to the new year? 
First, I pretty much missed it, because I was either drowning in pain or drowning in narcotics, neither of which were fun.
Second, my house was in TOTAL disarray, because the only place to put things that come out of the room are in other rooms.  Which kind of precludes using them.  Or cleaning them.
Third, dude, pain.  Enough said.
Fourth, very bad mood.  Due to the previous three items.
I am sure you get it.
Anyway, I have more or less recovered, although the use of my jaw joint as a fulcrum for prying out the tooth has caused me additional aches, especially since I have TMJ, and the room is nearly done. 
I will post some before and after pics so you can ooh and aah appropriately over my excellent taste in renovations/redecorations.
But not tonight.  Tonight, I think I may watch Downton Abbey.  And finish knitting my sock.

Here Again. Maybe?

So, I got booted from my blog due to a serious mixup with accounts and websites and whatnot.  Now I am back.  Hopefully for real this time.
Been wondering what is going around here with The Small One and The Man of the House (TMOTH)?  Well, pretty much, the usual.  The Small One is always funny.  And bratty.  Which is to be expected from a 4 year old.  And by the by, FOUR YEARS?  HOW IS SHE THAT OLD?  They are not kidding when they say time flies.
TMOTH carries on with working a lot, doing projects on our house (with me!) and being amusing.
So, here is a quick rundown of the recent past.  I am only going to do recent, because I don't really remember further back.  We are boring, so, there you go.
Christmas was good.  It sneaked up on me again.  I know, I know, how can I be surprised by something that occurs at the same time every year?  Well, trust me, I can.  Part of it was TMOTH working a lot.  Part of it was me working later in December than I really like.  Part of it was the lack of snow.  I just wasn't feeling the Christmas spirit this year, and that was a bit of a disappointment.  But, The Small One had an excellent Christmas.  She got a little barn with horses and people (dollhouse style) from my dad, which she promptly named Tambley farm.  Why Tambley Farm, you may ask?  Because that is what came out of her pencil when she wrote the sign.  She is getting to a point where she can sound out letters and words, but sometimes she just writes things, and that is why Tambley Farm.
It had two cows and two horses.  One white horse, one brown horse.  In case you are unaware, and it is likely you are, white horses are unicorns.  No, I don't know why.  I am not a 4 year old girl.  Unicorns are white, white horses are white.  White horses must be unicorns.




The Small One also got a dollhouse from me ( I built it!) It was actually a kit given to me when I was 12 or so, that I never finished.  Funny thing is, when I posted a pic on facebook, my friend called me and told me she recognized that dollhouse, because we had worked on it when we were small!  She loves it, but it is huge, and really, she did not need more huge toys.  Everything the child owns is huge.  We don't do things by halves.



And, speaking of not doing things by halves, the be-all and end-all present she got?  Something she has been begging me for for 6 months.  A pottery wheel.  Not just any pottery wheel, but a beautiful, full size, teak and granite pottery wheel made by none other than her daddy.  It is awesome.  Teak throw wheel, granite kick wheel, teak seat, metal frame, powder coated to a shiny white.  She will be able to use it the rest of her life.  And boy, does she love it.  And, she is good at it, too.  I was surprised, but I shouldn't have been.  She is rather tricky with her hands.
If you wonder why she wanted a pottery wheel, and well you might, since a lot of our friends thought it was a curious thing for a small child to want, I shall inform you. 
Back in June, we went to our local Heritage Festival.  Living in an old, small town, these things are popular.  At said event, there was a gentleman doing pottery and allowing the children to try it out.  So, she did.  Then a couple of months later, we were at a farmer's market/festival thing and there was another potter.  Then, she discovered that her Uncle Danny does pottery and that he made some of our bowls.  Well, that did it.  She had to have a pottery wheel.  And she did not forget about it. 
We looked at kids pottery wheels, the motorized kind, not too expensive.  But the reviews were terrible.  They didn't last, the rpms were too slow to actually do anything, etc.  So, TMOTH being clever, like he is, we decided he would build one. 
Of course, being on a budget, there was no way we could buy a real pottery wheel.  They range from about $400-$1000, which is a ridiculous amount to spend on a 4 yr old.  Luckily, we had everything but the granite, which was also free from a friend.  All we paid for was the powder coating and the shaping of the granite.  Awesome.
So, while it looked like massive amounts of money were spend on the child, we really only spent about $100.  Which is how it generally works out.  Having crafty parents is good.  Except that it often means that the child needs a GIANT playroom to hold her giant playthings.  Giant dollhouse, giant pottery wheel, 3 piece play kitchen, rocking horse, playhouse, dress up closet.  When you can make whatever you want, it is hard to scale back. ;)
And, TMOTH and I enjoy the building of said playthings.  We took turns in the evenings working on our respective projects.  He would come home, eat, then go out and work on the pottery wheel until 9, then come in and get The Small One ready for bed and I would go out and work on the dollhouse until about 11 or 12.  Fortunately for us, we have nice garage heaters.
Ok, so I will REALLY try to post more often this year.  It is one of my New Years Resolutions.  Wish me luck.