Light at the end of the tunnel

The Great Kindergarten Debate of '09 tunnel, that is!

I called our elementary school today to schedule a tour. The parent reviews on greatschools.com aren't favorable at all so I thought I would go & check it out myself. So I call this morning. Tour? Oh no! You just come in during the March "Roundup" (registration for Prek & K students) & you can look around then, if you want to. Um, no. I want to look now before I register her anywhere else.

What is interesting is that a friend of mine who is zoned for another school was given a tour this past week. Treated like a rock star & she left on cloud 9, forgetting that she had ever considered private school!

I called the school district to find out why the discrepancy in attitudes & was told that while they would like to think that ALL schools would open their doors to prospective parents/students, it was up to the principal to set the standard for their school. I understand the last thing any educator needs is a nutty parent walking around wondering if this setting was the right one for their little darling but really, if you don't have anything to hide why not let them come in & ease their worried little minds?

So I have written off this school & will tour what is known as "Choice #1" on Monday. I got a good vibe from the phone call I made today, was told to come by anytime & have spent time on their website & reading their Parent/Student Handbook. Let's hope it goes well & I can find something else to obsess over!

Your actions DO count

A couple weeks ago I was at Burger King w/ the Wee One for a play date w/ some of her friends from school. We were the last to leave & were walking to our car when I heard the sound of metal on metal. When I looked over to the parking lot I saw a truck backing out & rubbing up on the truck next to it. I was shocked when they didn't stop, despite the damage to the other truck being clearly visible & let's be real---you KNOW when you hit another car.

I wrote down the offending vehicle's plate number & left the information on their windshield. Today, this letter was in our "Letters to the Editor" part of the paper:

My pickup truck was parked and unoccupied in the parking lot of the Burder King on Veterans Parkway. Upon my return to my truck I found damage to the vehicle. Denise is the manager at the this location. She called the police for me. She also informed me they had a surveillance camera in the parking lot.

Officer Michael Miller responded to the call. He obtained a copy of the videotape and also the note we found on my windshield identifying a person who witnessed the accident. They got the responsible parties’ tag number along with a description of the at-fault vehicle. All this information was given to Officer R. D. Hall, the director of the Hit & Run unit.

All this evidence was presented to Recorders Court Judge Michael P. Cielinski. The Judge ruled in my favor and the responsible parties’ insurance paid for my damages.

I have to thank Officer Miller, Denise, Officer Hall and certainly Judge Cielinski. I don’t know how he keeps his sanity. I was at the court for quite some time listening to the hundred or so cases presented to him. He shows compassion when it is called for and is firm when needed.

Obvioiusly I think everbody should avoid Recorders Count if possible. The person who hit my vehicle lost his license and paid a stiff fine. But If you are ever there you are in for an eye-opening experience. Again, thanks to the system that worked for me.

I'm glad that justice was served!

Did someone say 'hat'??

I thought you did. CO yesterday afternoon, worked on during LOST, which is a feat in & of itself as I usually don't knit while watching for fear of missing something. Stockinette during a season opener is a good thing!

Now to finish the hat I promised her teacher last year!

History is made & 2 FO's

Jayne Hat for Alida's sweetie which I finished this morning & the Wee One's new mittens which were finished yesterday afternoon. She needs a new hat to go with them!













I think the most touching thing in all of today's festivities was FOX News commentator Juan Williams' voice breaking & showing the emotion he (and many Americans) felt in realizing the moment they had long dreamed of had come.

On the horizon

Two more soon-to-be FO's. I have another Jayne Hat on the needles for my friend Alida's boyfriend. It's his Valentine's Day present so I need to get it done & out to her in Seattle by the 1st (my deadline, not hers!)

The mitten is for the Wee One. It's mate is 30% finished & hopefully will be done later this morning. It's the first time I've used a pattern that doesn't use a traditional thumb gusset & I'm on the fence on whether I like it or not. It does use waste yarn for the thumb stitches rather than a stitch holder & I do like that, but the lack of thumb gusset is a little "eh" for me.

Speaking of the Wee One, she did indeed have strep. The doctor called a couple hours after we got home to let us know the rapid strep test came back positive. Interestingly enough, she didn't have strep in Sept. They're thinking it was either tonsilitis or that the swab didn't get enough cells. At any rate, we're officially "keeping an eye" on her. I'm hoping we stay strep & tonsilitis-free for many, many months. The idea of her having surgery just isn't appealling to me!

1st FO of the year!

My Noro Kochoran Easy Mittens for me! I'm thrilled with how they came out & how well I did with matching the colors!

The Wee One conked out at 6pm last night. We were having dinner in the living room (Daddy wasn't home) & she climbed up next to me on the couch. Things got quiet, and when I peeked over at her, saw she was sound asleep. Even Libby barking at our neighbor didn't wake her up. Around 630 I carried her into her room & an hour later gave her some tylenol. At midnight I gave her motrin & got her into a nightgown. She came in our room to wake me up shortly past 7! Her throat looks a little red (spotty, strep-looking) & she still was a little warm so I called the peds clinic & by some stroke of fate, we have an appointment this afternoon. If it is strep, it's her 3rd bout with it in 6 months (Aug & Sept '08) which isn't great. My brothers & sister all had their tonsils out as kinds, I still have mine (and have had strep as an adult!) so we'll see what the doctor says!

Monday Monday

My Easy Mitten! For me. Two years ago I got a great deal on Noro Kochoran on Little Knits & made a "potato chip scarf" that I love. Periodically I'd take out the leftover skein, lovingly pet it & wonder what would I do with it. After making the fingerless mitts for my BIL & realizing that while I'd never wear mitts, the idea to make mittens was born!

The Wee One was home from school today feeling icky. Low-grade fever, not a big appetite & happy to stay in Mommy's bed watching movies for most of the day. She conked out on the couch at 6 & is in her bed. I'm hoping she sleeps thru the night & gets whatever is ailing her out of her system.

I'm starting to look at kindergartens for her for the fall. 1) HOW is it possible that she is old enough & 2) why is this such a crazy process? What am I going to be like when she's looking at colleges? It's KINDERGARTEN for pete's sake! Part of my problem is that I've heard not-so-great things about the public school that is closest to us. The principal is never available to parents, the PTA is all about fund-raising rather than establishing parent-teacher relations & getting parents involved in the school & that bullying is a problem. If only the school she's at now would offer Kindergarten. It would be a no brainer.

We had a great time in VT with my family for Christmas---both of my brothers were there which was great. The Wee One adores her uncles, aunt & cousins & was an absolute joy. The only sad point is my Dad's health is really bad. He had a quintuple bypass in 2000 & really never recovered from it. In 2002 he suffered from a bout of pneumonia that left him on oxygen (as well as suffering from emphesyma) and by this past summer it became clear that he was starting to show signs of dementia. It was hard seeing him in this condition, knowing that he's not going to get better. The Wee One, yet again, was great---she's not phased by his oxygen tube & would run up to him to give hugs & kisses randomly throughout the day. I love this picture of them!

Off to finish the mate to my mitten!

Back to normal

Or what constitutes normal in our house. Hunter is back to work today, the Wee One goes back to school tomorrow & I am up watching Rock of Love 3 on Tivo. Don't judge!

Is Ravelry down? When I go to the main page (and any other page--forums, friends, etc) I get this weird page arrangement. Hmmmm.

No knitting right now but I'm thinking about starting Hunter's silk garden scarf. Of course, it's 70 degrees here lately but at least I'll have it done.