tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-106244962024-03-07T15:38:26.466-06:00News from the Petting ZooCurrent activities and obsessions of one Sarah Kate, Proprietress of the South Side Petting Zoo. Knitter, Waitron, Cat Wrangler, Aspiring Housewife, Student of DIY Rehabology, Comix Junkie, Reader, Sprout's Mother, Big Geek.sarahkatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06527100705584383864noreply@blogger.comBlogger466125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10624496.post-24746955069028243092010-04-22T09:13:00.004-05:002010-04-22T09:42:47.992-05:00What we've been up to...Trying to spend more time alone in the mornings, getting up before the boys, has given me a bit of time to try to blog. I'm just doing a picture post for now. Here's what we've been up to:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3KwdFpn_6mKE1fo7DWP3VgBPt1IGdzADfCtFzChx36vKy8QMdl5yxJrxZbS2yIX7ViLaLiLdjtG-EpnYwPvUjJqR5LuhiuNKagLxVdB6cSZ0c_45FunSH23iE_38u07qdkUWuMg/s1600/a-tub.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3KwdFpn_6mKE1fo7DWP3VgBPt1IGdzADfCtFzChx36vKy8QMdl5yxJrxZbS2yIX7ViLaLiLdjtG-EpnYwPvUjJqR5LuhiuNKagLxVdB6cSZ0c_45FunSH23iE_38u07qdkUWuMg/s400/a-tub.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462965805128907218" /></a><br />Here's Sprout and Macaroni in the tub at Kate's house in NOLA. They were so cute. We went down for Kate & Eldon's housewarming/anniversary party. It was a crazy weekend, and Shawna and I decided that we might just have to move to New Orleans.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFMoqyMp68RcA59iQCfZ6d1CeLRmTjE7ui6ycQk9d9VvMRx2p4m2-8lEhWVHv4s0HlvEgYo3pdnefpghnsaOafrpzOqlqOgKRiTSKRTcAKbpYnl5iJcU-F-DqvDXbo0vBYN2LopQ/s1600/a-coop.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFMoqyMp68RcA59iQCfZ6d1CeLRmTjE7ui6ycQk9d9VvMRx2p4m2-8lEhWVHv4s0HlvEgYo3pdnefpghnsaOafrpzOqlqOgKRiTSKRTcAKbpYnl5iJcU-F-DqvDXbo0vBYN2LopQ/s400/a-coop.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462965793247173682" /></a><br />This is the chicken coop my father-in-law and I have been building in our backyard. It is built totally out of stuff I got out of alleys. I love spring blitz month in St. Louis! I know it's kinda crazy looking, but I love it. We don't have chickens yet, we are waiting to finish the coop and fence first, but we will be getting four Australopes. Sprout is so excited about the chickens.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIHAqo8u1uRD9cSK3wSQixF9PNMCyYzvPE1D-2n9BSVFUmR4WiFXn9rM44qDrC5f3s8GNLQf5wnq8_N2B-cRaQCi-gM1zttvevDrqkRQKxKtkUxJAd-bjQU4wyy0wV5G9v5496SQ/s1600/a-blue.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIHAqo8u1uRD9cSK3wSQixF9PNMCyYzvPE1D-2n9BSVFUmR4WiFXn9rM44qDrC5f3s8GNLQf5wnq8_N2B-cRaQCi-gM1zttvevDrqkRQKxKtkUxJAd-bjQU4wyy0wV5G9v5496SQ/s400/a-blue.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462965788785055474" /></a><br />I also painted the fence blue. Just because. Best comment I've gotten was from Shawna, who helped me paint. She said "It's like the freakin' Mediterranean out here!"<br />That's all for now, going to wake up the boys.sarahkatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06527100705584383864noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10624496.post-19622012233725677242010-04-08T09:57:00.003-05:002010-04-08T09:59:42.347-05:00Three<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxcFYTlEQl0OyOOPq1c3L_HnZ-Jagb762YYPOqy6iQERg1uo-B_o3790IrliU80K9C_lnt0U6rIkohvRIAaWzZU5fm3Yoy7MX6H4XltvpR-F4rrze0uAR-qg8hA7L626FRU0cpXg/s1600/23426_1249616082624_1296120011_30598059_521463_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxcFYTlEQl0OyOOPq1c3L_HnZ-Jagb762YYPOqy6iQERg1uo-B_o3790IrliU80K9C_lnt0U6rIkohvRIAaWzZU5fm3Yoy7MX6H4XltvpR-F4rrze0uAR-qg8hA7L626FRU0cpXg/s400/23426_1249616082624_1296120011_30598059_521463_n.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457781213915883602" /></a><br />photo by Emily Thenhaus<br /><br />Sprout is three. I cannot believe how quickly this day came. I love being his mama.sarahkatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06527100705584383864noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10624496.post-73184871227416056742009-12-09T22:16:00.002-06:002009-12-09T22:19:34.990-06:00The Christmas knitting is coming along. I have three projects started and one finished, with maybe two more to go. We'll see. Most of the gifts I'm giving this year are homemade, of the edible variety and were canned this summer. I also have plans to bake about seven thousand cookies and to make use of the skills I learned in the candy making class I took with Gretchen. Hope you all are hungry.sarahkatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06527100705584383864noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10624496.post-66003545657340595502009-11-14T12:35:00.005-06:002009-11-14T13:32:22.050-06:00Customer service: responseMy friend Rachel recently blogged about a horrifying experience she had at a Fashion Bug store in Alton Mo. <a href="http://stlrachelknits.blogspot.com/2009/11/dust-shower.html">Here's the link</a>, go read what happened to her. I'll wait, and we can continue afterwards.<br /><br />That's disgusting, and I'm so sorry that Rachel got sick. What I cannot believe is that no one apologized to her. I've been working in customer service my entire life and the first thing you always do when there is an incident is apologize, no matter what happened. If you messed up, you apologize. If it was someone else's mistake, you apologize. If it was an act of God, you apologize. EVEN IF THE CUSTOMER IS AT FAULT you apologize. Common decency, people.<br /><br />I am appalled that no one has called or contacted her after her letter. Those who know me, know that I am a great believer in writing letters to companies, both when I've had great service and when it's been crap. I like to think that taking the time to actually put something on paper, something people can see I took time to write makes an impression; and I usually get a response, even if it is a token form letter, but perhaps those days are over.<br /><br />My sister has worked in clothing retail for the past six years and recently posted on <a href="http://anniebeeinchi.blogspot.com/2009/08/if-chivalry-is-dead-customer-service_05.html">her blog</a> about the failings of customer service in retail stores of late. We both think that the corporate downsizing many of these companies have been doing to reduce their payroll has resulted in crappy service. When retail companies downsize the highest paid managers, those who train other employees, the business starts to show it.<br /><br />I do a fair amount of hiring and training at my job, and one of the things I tell employees is to always say "I'm sorry." Even if it's not your fault, you apologize to the customer. Then you try to fix the problem, or find someone else who can, or even ask the customer, "Please tell me how I can make this a more positive experience for you." <br /><br />The other thing that pisses me off about what happened to Rachel is that the clerk made a comment to the tune of "Well, I don't know how we are supposed to clean that!" This attitude falls into the category of "It's not my job, blame someone else." I HATE THIS ATTITUDE. It's my opinion that if you are working, if you are on the clock being paid, and something needs to be done, THEN IT IS YOUR JOB. Too many people refuse to take responsibility when something like this happens. Too many people want to do the minimum amount of work possible. I know that when you are making a crappy hourly wage, getting no benefits and having to deal with public in general, motivation is tough. But when a business offers great customer service, word gets around. I drive out of my way to the Old Navy by South County Mall because the sales associates in that store are friendly and helpful and always go above and beyond to find stuff for me.<br /><br />I know how poorly paid retail positions can be, and I know that the hours are long and the job is often thankless, but I'm sick of managers (and district managers and so on up the corporate ladder) not giving a damn about how customers are treated in their stores. This is one of the major flaws of big businesses.<br /><br />I don't want to get up on my soapbox about buying from small, independent locally-owned businesses, (because like Rachel said, she just wanted a long-sleeved t-shirt, and those are easiest to find at chain stores) but I've found that one of the many things that the little businesses are doing right is focusing on customer service. I'd just like to tell the HR departments of these chain stores that maybe taking the time to focus on customer service training really is worth it. I browse for books on Amazon.com, mostly because they have an amazing database, but I order and buy the books I want from Left Bank Books here in St. Louis. They get me what I want swiftly, and usually can recommend something in the same vein for next time. That (and Spike the pettable cat) is what keeps me coming back.<br /><br />Okay. Enough. I might have to go write a letter to Fashion Bug. I'm sure it'll go into the circular file with no response.sarahkatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06527100705584383864noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10624496.post-75326306472195022972009-11-09T07:02:00.002-06:002009-11-09T08:12:36.129-06:00I woke up this morning at six-thirty. Starving. When I came downstairs, the back yard was foggy and the neighborhood smelled like the brewery. I love living in south city on days like this. When I smell the brewery I can imagine what the city was like a hundred years ago, when our house was built. So I'm making breakfast, drinking my coffee and enjoying watching the last of the fog burn off. I've got cheddar-green onion biscuits in the oven, bacon on the griddle and fried green tomatoes, leftover from Saturday. I'll slap some eggs on those tomatoes and maybe a squirt of horseradish mustard aioli and have my self a huge, unhealthy breakfast before I start the day.<div>The boys are still asleep and I can't start making phone calls to all of the assorted doctor's offices that I need appointments at until nine, so I'm just going to gorge myself and relax on the porch. </div><div>I'd forgotten how much I love getting up early. I won't resist going to bed before eleven again.</div>sarahkatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06527100705584383864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10624496.post-28794048842149106482009-10-09T15:43:00.003-05:002009-10-09T15:53:13.895-05:00Eating habits of the free-range southside toddlerI'm wondering if I should be worried that my son, who is now two and a half, has started requesting that we go to certain restaurants. About a month ago, he woke up one Saturday morning and said "Get up now Mama. We go the Rooster with Verona and Shawna. I eat French Toast and bacon." When asked this afternoon which Vietnamese place he preferred, Lemongrass or Mekong, he responded "I like Mekong. They have my tofu noodles. And baby corn. I like baby corn." He even has an opinion about pizza. A true St. Louisian, my boy loves Imo's. For those of you who are out of town, Imo's is the epitome of St. Louis style pizza, once described by a friend from New Jersey as "tomato paste and processed cheese food on a cracker." People either love it or hate it. I think pizza's pretty good, even when it's bad, so whatever. Joss loves Imo's, and picks it over my favorite, which is Joanie's. Joanie's has every vegetable you can imagine, and they don't bat an eyelash if you ask for no cheese. (I eat with a lot of vegans.) <div>So anyway, the question is, am I raising a food snob, and if so, is that a bad thing?</div>sarahkatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06527100705584383864noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10624496.post-44802127566948550142009-10-03T05:21:00.001-05:002009-10-04T05:22:52.866-05:00I'm so sorry Bean. I wish I'd been able to get to know you better. When you go back into that great cosmic stew pot from whence you came, know that I loved you with all my heart, and will forever cherish having had the chance to be your mother.sarahkatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06527100705584383864noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10624496.post-27709415413277142882009-09-12T11:06:00.003-05:002009-09-12T11:14:43.649-05:00Jam SessionsI'm up to my eyeballs in summer fruit this year, I'm getting good deals from all the local farmers. In June I canned strawberry jam for the first time, and all but four jars of that are gone, given away to friends and family or eaten by the boys here at the petting zoo. In July, Barrett brought me ten pounds of blueberries from Michigan, some of which were frozen and the rest went to make blueberry jam. Yesterday Mom and I made white peach jam and canned nine jars of fresh peaches.<br />I bought ten pounds of concord grapes at Soulard market this morning, and this week, I'm attempting jelly for the first time. From what I've read, it is a bit more labor intensive, and takes longer to make, but I just can't stop myself.<br />Maybe being pregnant has addled my brain, but I feel like I HAVE to can all this fruit for the winter this year.sarahkatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06527100705584383864noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10624496.post-63429588395169025342009-04-30T09:17:00.001-05:002009-04-30T09:57:09.744-05:00A short rant, with no point, really.I read a lot of knitting blogs. I don't knit as much as I used to (you try making charted lace socks on dpns while chasing a feisty two-year-old), but I do enjoy ogling the work of others. One of my regulars is Dr. Steph's <a href="http://www.acunningplan.typepad.com/andsheknitstoo/"></a>. (that link isn't working. sorry.)She's interesting, and she doesn't write just about knitting. Recently, for instance, she wrote about television. This is something I've been thinking and talking about quite a bit lately.<br /><br />For years, I refused to pay for television. I grew up in a house without cable. When I lived with an ex-boyfriend in Chicago we had cable, but I was working and going to school full time, so I didn't watch much then, also, he was a nazi with the remote so I never got to pick anyway. <br /><br />When I moved back to St. Louis, I don't think I even had a t.v. <br /><br />We watched a ton of videos at the Cleveland house, but television didn't factor into the equation. It was easier to get five or six people to agree on a movie than a show. <br /><br />When Matt and I bought the Petting Zoo we were young and unmarried, child-free, had less debt, yadda yadda. Long story short, we got the digital hookup. I was IN LOVE with cable. It was one all night DeGrassi marathon after another. I was addicted to the DIY channel, the Home Improvement network, Adult Swim and the power hour (John Stewart and Stephen Colbert, Monday thru Thursday, 10pm central.) I watched the Sopranos, Big Love, Entourage, and Flight of the Conchords. I saw every episode of BSG. I adored BBC America, SciFi, Nick at Night, Sundance, IFC, The N, and the stupid network whose name escapes me that played all the old Star Trek episodes in the afternoons. I watched miniseries, "made for Lifetime movies" and (cringe) VH1 exposes. Basically I wasted a TON of time. <br /><br />Now, t.v. can be a good thing, educational and helpful and all, but I was having <span style="font-style:italic;">too much</span> of a good thing. It did its job, got me through the first six months of nursing, since Josser would not let me read a book or knit while he was eating. But when we finally couldn't afford it anymore, I wasn't so sad to let the cable go. I figured if I really needed to watch television, we still had the networks, right? <br /><br />Then came the announcement that all television was "going digital." Anyone hooked up to cable already was fine. The rest of us had two choices; get cable or buy a "box." Since our government knew that the American people might actually riot in the streets if their beloved teevee was taken away, we all have been issued "coupons" by the government to give those of us without cable a discount on a digital converter box. <br /><br />I refuse to get cable, and I refuse to buy a digital converter box because I don't want to let television back into my life. Mattie and I decided to cancel the cable service to save money about nine months ago, and I will never go back. We can watch whatever we've "missed" on Hulu, making it more of active entertainment-seeking than passive. I know we watch less of it. Every show, cable or network, seems to be available on DVD immediately after the season ends, so Netflix and collector friends are providing us with hours of entertainment.<br /><br />I really feel that television can become controlling. It is too easy to veg out in front of the idiot box when you have nine billion channels to choose from. Even if there's <span style="font-style:italic;">nothing</span> on, there's still <span style="font-style:italic;">something</span> on. So I'm sticking to my guns. No teevee.<br /><br />I have made a few observations. People I don't <span style="font-style:italic;">really</span> want to talk to, have nothing to talk to me about. Once we cover the weather, we have nothing more in common to discuss. It may sound evil, but I'm fine with this. <br /><br />Since The Sprout doesn't watch teevee, he doesn't recognize all the "marketed at kids" crap that is out in the world. My son doesn't know Dora from Adam. He doesn't ask me for fruity-oaty-bars or super-sugar-puffs at the grocery store. He knows not the Disney.<br /><br />I'm sleeping better. I don't stay up late watching movies, or reality shows or whatever. <br /><br />I get a lot more done around the house. I don't put off doing something "until the commercial" or "after this is over."<br /><br />So basically, I don't miss television. I feel better about myself for not buying into the government coupon opiate scam, and I think I'll go spend the forty bucks I would have wasted on the box on a Botanical Gardens membership. That's all now.sarahkatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06527100705584383864noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10624496.post-25292291772130291262009-04-26T08:19:00.003-05:002009-04-26T08:24:31.433-05:00Rooster with Kate and Eldon<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyCse90sm86jm4UHvxy9ev2Qj07BVQSEPOhNUpp4dQu8nxpjiPuM-APqsEhTwZXlSqMTlFsY-F8i2dXbpDcBEOlRm0kQq5JHoc5pA3f0OvvDY0lp26Mrr-tBqdH3nDuOoZpjzeSQ/s1600-h/tn.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 113px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyCse90sm86jm4UHvxy9ev2Qj07BVQSEPOhNUpp4dQu8nxpjiPuM-APqsEhTwZXlSqMTlFsY-F8i2dXbpDcBEOlRm0kQq5JHoc5pA3f0OvvDY0lp26Mrr-tBqdH3nDuOoZpjzeSQ/s400/tn.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328990255961161874" /></a><br />Hmmm. It seems smaller than I wanted it.sarahkatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06527100705584383864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10624496.post-21845431568028152432009-04-23T15:40:00.002-05:002009-04-23T15:43:29.265-05:00Thinking about itI think I need to learn to spin. On a wheel. Not on a bike. <br />Any of you enablers ( I mean, nice local spinners) out there have any suggestions? Like class recommendations? Wanna let me try your wheel? Want to trade baked goods for spinning lessons?sarahkatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06527100705584383864noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10624496.post-65680212062078219892009-04-05T21:25:00.000-05:002009-04-05T21:25:56.238-05:00Twilight Tide Pettiskirt GIVEAWAY!!!!<a href="http://grosgrainfabulous.blogspot.com/2009/03/twilight-tide-pettiskirt-giveaway.html">Twilight Tide Pettiskirt GIVEAWAY!!!!</a><br /><br />If I win this I'm totally giving it to Sylvia for her birthday!sarahkatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06527100705584383864noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10624496.post-28098607555919052232009-04-03T07:33:00.002-05:002009-04-03T08:01:50.548-05:00On turning two...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrbEWxUVsGTMLfHh8knKj7RYsheIrXyNNnWKm7_Eus1d_iY6M4PBLrhLfelbWGGKm7o02y9RB1voyb2jxtGA4CsHZrZcpETcYlFzDApAd_g3hUbCbSFIGhPDFBERBIFEBvWn199w/s1600-h/IMG_0488.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrbEWxUVsGTMLfHh8knKj7RYsheIrXyNNnWKm7_Eus1d_iY6M4PBLrhLfelbWGGKm7o02y9RB1voyb2jxtGA4CsHZrZcpETcYlFzDApAd_g3hUbCbSFIGhPDFBERBIFEBvWn199w/s320/IMG_0488.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320449527635257778" /></a><br />Tomorrow is Mr. Sprout's second birthday. Festivities are planned, nothing major, just family and a few close friends for food and drinks in the afternoon. <div>While I'm getting ready for the party, I'm thinking about what I was doing two years ago today. I remember being very uncomfortable. I had been very uncomfortable for about two weeks. I remember telling Rosemary that I wasn't going to let this baby make me wait much longer. I remember Rosemary laughing at me. I was a little scared, very excited and anxious to meet our baby. I kinda thought we were getting a girl.<br />I remember checking into the hospital. I remember the snotty nurse I sent away, and the looks on Mom and Kate's faces when I did.<br />I also think I remember Matt eating dinner, like three times.<br />I wish I would have expressed more thanks to Jen, our labor and delivery nurse, who gave up baseball tickets that night, and settled for watching the game on television with us while I contracted. She was so sweet, and made it seem that she really didn't mind missing the game, like she wanted to spend what was supposed to be her night off with us. A true professional, she made me feel like one of the most important nights in my life was one of the most important ones in hers, too.<br />The pain of labor, the stress of birth, the excitement, the joy, the blah blah blah. I mostly remember Matt and Kate's eyes and mouths, round and getting rounder when I pushed the final time, and my son was here.<br />I remember my mother, with me through it all. She took his first pictures and didn't leave his side. I swear to you, he KNEW her from minute one.<br />I remember everyone who came to meet him in the hospital, and visited us at home, dealing with the jaundice and that stupid bilibed. I was so confused, because every fiber of my body was telling me to hold and nurse Sprout, but the doctor said he had to stay in that stupid contraption for 8 to 12 hours a day. I ached to hold my son. I remember Shawna asking me why I was doubting myself. She looked me straight in the eye and told me to go with my instincts. Because of that I will always trust hers.<br />His first birthday was everything it was supposed to be. He got a bike. He ate cake naked. He fell asleep shortly afterward.<br />I hope he has fun tomorrow. I've had the most amazing two years of my life.<br />Now I gotta go finish cleaning the damn house.<br /><br /><br /></div>sarahkatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06527100705584383864noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10624496.post-55485489125943544852009-03-16T14:57:00.005-05:002009-03-16T15:17:43.628-05:00Whoa! What happened to February?And most of March for that matter?<br />Yeah, that was quick. Huh. <br />I'm running around like a headless chicken these days, chasing my almost-two-year-old. The Sprout really is a full time job, which means I have two full time jobs now. <br />I've been working a lot at the restaurant, mostly off the floor, which has been a nice change. We've installed a point of sale system and I've been helping with the programming of it. That means I spend a lot of time in the office during the day, in addition to my regularly scheduled wait shifts at night. This seems like a ton of time away from home, but since Sprout is bigger now, and since Matt isn't working as much, it really isn't too difficult to swing. It just means I have very little time for anything else.<br />In knitting news, I finally finished Zach's Knucks. They were supposed to be a Christmas gift, but I just finished them last week. Pitiful, I know. In order to prevent something of this sort happening again this year, I have decided to start my Christmas knitting for December '09 on April 1st. This is not an April Fool's Day joke. I am completely serious. <br />In house news, we are now officially one house. Matt knocked a vaguely door-shaped hole in the back of the kitchen wall, and VOILA! we now have access to the upper levels of our house! Yay! We plan to be sleeping on the second floor by April 4th.<br />Okay, I had a ton of stuff I wanted to blog about, but Toni just pulled up in front of my house and gave me a very ripe black truffle and I really must go make some truffle butter before the thing turns.sarahkatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06527100705584383864noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10624496.post-41063136286616286032009-02-08T08:33:00.002-06:002009-02-08T08:38:22.115-06:00What they don't tell youThe worst part of having a sick baby is not the worrying, the loss of sleep for everyone in the family, or even the clean up.<br />The worst part of having a sick baby is when the woman behind you in the grocery store peers into your cart and says "Sick baby, huh?" as she hoists her only purchase (a gallon jug of generic vodka) on to the belt and proceeds to tell you, in gory detail, about the time her son had the rotovirus and vomited thirty-three times. Seriously.sarahkatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06527100705584383864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10624496.post-62991831787191954982009-02-05T15:11:00.005-06:002009-02-05T15:42:37.563-06:00February, and back to knittingSo I haven't posted any knitting pictures since I started blogging again, mostly because I haven't really been knitting. I've almost completed my poor brother-in-law's Knucks, which were supposed to be a Christmas gift, but I didn't finish in time. I'm lucky Zach is patient. <br />I'm back on the horse now, inspired by the Sprout's recent growth spurt. All of his hats seem to have gotten too small in the past week, so I have taken it upon myself to make him a new hat and some matching mittens. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3HkC-e1tJZ9mL-TuXqguqjJM8zAd3C3uvnLh1nWnAUK-mmzWxpOvKLd7k-x2MBHgBhUtO4dmDEKL-F_Yg-c4j7Rsqat_1GVh51ieK57ReCGUrB61FEMYSxq4wSPmR0GXW6ftzMw/s1600-h/IMG_3192.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3HkC-e1tJZ9mL-TuXqguqjJM8zAd3C3uvnLh1nWnAUK-mmzWxpOvKLd7k-x2MBHgBhUtO4dmDEKL-F_Yg-c4j7Rsqat_1GVh51ieK57ReCGUrB61FEMYSxq4wSPmR0GXW6ftzMw/s320/IMG_3192.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299429927628457154" /></a><br />I've made about eighty-four thousand hats since I started knitting, from the wee to the enormous, so making a hat wasn't really a big deal. I headed to Knitorious, grabbed some yarn (with Rachel's help), made a swatch, measured Sprout's enormous head, did some math and cast right on. We picked some Mountain Colors 3 ply wool in Alpine, a nice blue and green blend with some rusty colors every so often. Now, I know most people would say "Skate, are you crazy? What kind of fool makes a baby hat and mittens out of WOOL?" Honestly folks, it's washable. Woolite + cold water = clean hat and mittens. I am not so lazy that I can't hand wash a few things. It's not like his entire wardrobe is hand wash only.<br />Anyway, I like a roll-brimmed beanie, so that's what we made. It took me two nights of down-time to finish. Then I decided to give mittens a shot. I've never made mittens. I've made wrist warmers and fingerless gloves and gloves with fingers, so I figured, how hard can mittens be? I'm a good knitter, I don't need a pattern. I know all about putting in scrap yarn as a place-saver for the thumb. I just figured I'd decrease at the top the way I do for a sock toe. So far it seems to have worked out well. I made the first one at breakfast this morning. I cast on for the second while Sprout was down for his nap, and I plan to finish it tonight while I'm waiting for Matt to get off work. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPsG-NvjoTT9Ey2Wp5yzEA8yAWCNJybRcg-0qkW0WtGyU95GKlSjVH2oORrgcVD8yvX0cNuZdWdC-aIIlFrJqV9BPPB8-8_xClBwFcVKnKUukYKs65hqGhz4RsZgxRZ_rKXjcDow/s1600-h/IMG_3197.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPsG-NvjoTT9Ey2Wp5yzEA8yAWCNJybRcg-0qkW0WtGyU95GKlSjVH2oORrgcVD8yvX0cNuZdWdC-aIIlFrJqV9BPPB8-8_xClBwFcVKnKUukYKs65hqGhz4RsZgxRZ_rKXjcDow/s320/IMG_3197.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299430584057480914" /></a><br />Here we have my little dumpling, modeling in the sunshine on the back porch. So yeah, knitting again. Yee Haw.sarahkatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06527100705584383864noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10624496.post-52662413148780776522009-01-31T16:49:00.003-06:002009-01-31T16:52:24.376-06:00Too Much Time on my Hands<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxH0hhRSmImtxzRYKCQX-pWmdDERbQK49FUyAaOKt9bY5p9pibflehnl0FSCubLjgJiaapFuUXKOo5wVhXmoRT6SFdqfJRupIxRGbeCDe_IqzM-c_piXHwRAjG8C1OuUZV6lnDKw/s1600-h/IMG_3132.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxH0hhRSmImtxzRYKCQX-pWmdDERbQK49FUyAaOKt9bY5p9pibflehnl0FSCubLjgJiaapFuUXKOo5wVhXmoRT6SFdqfJRupIxRGbeCDe_IqzM-c_piXHwRAjG8C1OuUZV6lnDKw/s400/IMG_3132.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297594044794880818" /></a><br />Five tiny snowmen, outside of Soulard Market, made by yours truly, while the boys played in the snow. I like to think of them as line dancers.sarahkatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06527100705584383864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10624496.post-38756307223457521222009-01-28T15:07:00.000-06:002009-01-31T15:16:41.253-06:00Snow Day!!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgB2aOgveJphcwW4nc6jeUvpMyFvqJ7yvxKHXdygBRN0kYMmdOEqflF9zkwwqteFjhNqgnruyZiOWTtwQeGN35Xmm-O-0cU7dGbE3JfcEBn6tdNwe7PTCAoz6YQL4vqE2qUqiw9g/s1600-h/snowday.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgB2aOgveJphcwW4nc6jeUvpMyFvqJ7yvxKHXdygBRN0kYMmdOEqflF9zkwwqteFjhNqgnruyZiOWTtwQeGN35Xmm-O-0cU7dGbE3JfcEBn6tdNwe7PTCAoz6YQL4vqE2qUqiw9g/s400/snowday.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297567918717680722" /></a><br />This was the view out my front door this morning. Don't worry, Sprout wasn't alone. Matt was just to the left, shoveling. They played in the snow for an hour, I think Matt enjoyed it just as much as the Sprout did.sarahkatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06527100705584383864noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10624496.post-42197251322150924562009-01-20T22:27:00.002-06:002009-01-20T22:35:19.871-06:00Blast from the pastFacebook.<br />It is addictive, we all know. It awakens our inner voyeur, lets us spy on each other under the guise of "keeping updated" with what our friends are doing. I'm just as bad as the next guy, I'm on it all the time, I even have the damn thing as a application on my phone. <br />But today, someone I haven't seen in a decade, someone I really missed, someone I truly regretted losing touch with contacted me on facebook. And it was a bold move on her part. I'm sure she was a little bit apprehensive, it's been ages. She couldn't possibly know if I'd even want to give her the time of day. But I'm so glad she found me. <br />So here's to facebook. Thanks for letting Violet find me.sarahkatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06527100705584383864noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10624496.post-70232803374332191172009-01-13T11:25:00.002-06:002009-01-13T11:43:55.214-06:00Just for fun<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOTxln4l6Oehf3ffJHtTmapGd2FbP9N41jRSFM8gYVxBhI0x4P7IQbpF_eag3y1QRNUGK-NC_mDvDyBqLFUENTfDsMu8y4V_vP9esVqI7xPlIOR8Kuh6h4jODbyIvUWwN1Lxo00Q/s1600-h/to+market.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOTxln4l6Oehf3ffJHtTmapGd2FbP9N41jRSFM8gYVxBhI0x4P7IQbpF_eag3y1QRNUGK-NC_mDvDyBqLFUENTfDsMu8y4V_vP9esVqI7xPlIOR8Kuh6h4jODbyIvUWwN1Lxo00Q/s320/to+market.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290832030916911618" /></a><br />Saturday we went to Soulard with cousins after we had pancakes with the activists at <a href="http://www.blackbearbakery.org"> Black Bear Bakery.</a> We had many tasty breakfast items, were invited to a protest, and met a crocheter with a love of Noro yarns.<br />That was the highlight of our week. I'm making bean soup in my crock pot and mapping out a plan for my garden. I'm finishing a late Xmas present and dealing with a toddler who thinks he's outgrown his afternoon nap. It could be worse.<br />Toni got a call this morning from her daughter's teacher because some little girl put glue in said daughter's hair. <a href="http://www.babyhumanexperience.blogspot.com"> J.J.</a> is dealing with a toddler and a possibly colicky newborn. I am counting lucky stars and going to give J.J. a call today. See if I can offer any suggestions with the colic. Toni's on her own though, I don't know how to get glue out of hair.sarahkatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06527100705584383864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10624496.post-71493390404141651882009-01-06T20:44:00.002-06:002009-01-06T20:47:41.910-06:0025 things about me from facebookI know this is a cop-out, but I haven't had time to work on the photo loader. Take it from me, this will be more fun than reading about how much I love my floors and how they glisten in the sunshine.<br /><br />1. If I have to choose between mopping the floor and cleaning the toilet, I'd take the toilet.<br />2. I dislike the way nail polish feels on my fingernails, but it doesn't bug me on my toenails.<br />3. At one point I had seven cats. <br />4. I now have one. Her name is Mashumaro, which is Japanese for marshmallow.<br />5. I went to culinary school, but refuse to work in a restaurant kitchen. <br />6. I was a vegetarian for fifteen years before I started eating meat again. <br />7. I have an amazingly awesome family.<br />8. My son is named after Joss Whedon, creator of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Firefly."<br />9. I don't believe in baptism, but I do believe in Godparents.<br />10. I'm scared of thunderstorms.<br />11. I was married in a purple vintage kimono.<br />12. My first crush was on Harrison Ford. He was Han Solo AND Indiana Jones! What more could a girl want?<br />13. The first boy I ever kissed was Jess Jacobs. I have no idea what happened to him after high school.<br />14. No one can make me laugh like Juliana Biondo.<br />15. I love my iPhone. Irrationally.<br />16. I have been unable to convince my husband to join facebook.<br />17. I would never move back to Webster Groves, even if you paid me a million dollars.<br />18. I am allergic to shellfish.<br />19. I love the smell of gasoline.<br />20. I'd rather be caught dead in a whorehouse than wear khaki pants.<br />21. I've never cheated on my husband.<br />22. I've been told I have a mean right hook.<br />23. I don't believe in God.<br />24. I do believe in faeries.<br />25. I think the sweet potato may be my favorite tuber.<br /><br />Enough. back to more productive things, like knitting.sarahkatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06527100705584383864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10624496.post-36478519560273205152009-01-05T21:55:00.003-06:002009-01-05T22:00:59.125-06:00tech difs, againSo I still haven't figured out what the problem is with blogger loading my pictures. I have pictures of the floors upstairs, pictures of the crazy Sprout doing crazy things, and pictures of things I have made in the past few days, but alas, I cannot post them. Maybe on Wednesday when "Graunty" takes the Sprout for a few hours I will be able to fix "el problemo photographica," but for now you'll just have to trust me. My Sprout is precious, I made tasty food and did some knitting, and my floors are almost finished. I snuck upstairs twice today to peek at the progress and let me tell you, it is amazing.sarahkatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06527100705584383864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10624496.post-49112199294632804032009-01-05T12:04:00.002-06:002009-01-05T12:17:59.990-06:00Sick dayWell, here we are. The first week of 2009 and I've already managed to get sick. I haven't taken off work, I've just been really sleepy and slow for three days. Sprout spent most of last week with both sets of grandparents due to the fact that Matt and I were both working over the New Year Holiday. I also let him sleep over last night at the In-laws because Matt was working again and I was too tired,sore and congested to take care of him. Needless to say he's been really clingy this week whenever we are together, asking to nurse all the time and throwing random mini-tantrums. I'm getting a glimpse of what two will be like this week, I think.<br />In home rehab news, the floors upstairs are almost finished. I have pictures from a few days ago that I couldn't get blogger to load, so I'm going to try again this afternoon, with a bunch more added.<br />Ok, I still can't get the photo uploader to work. I'll see if I can figure out what's wrong and try again later.sarahkatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06527100705584383864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10624496.post-83793259637935101272008-12-31T15:12:00.003-06:002008-12-31T16:12:56.017-06:00Short Recap of 2008Okay here we go:<br />Since you last heard from me I've been very busy. Sprout turned one, and I've been chasing him all over the city. I'm of the "take the kid everywhere with you" school of parenting, so we go and go. I had a brief reprieve in May when I took a trip to New York with my mom and sister to celebrate Anne's birthday. We stayed just outside of Times Square, saw Jersey Boys on Broadway, went to the top of the Empire State Building, spent a day at the "Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy" exhibit at the Met and shopped in SoHo. It was Anne's first trip to NYC and I know she had a blast.<br />I spent most of June picking berries all over the St. Louis Area. There are a ton of berry farms, and this year was really good for blueberries in particular. We are still eating the ones we froze this summer. I saw Tom Waits live at the Fox Theatre and major rehab got underway on our second floor.<br />July was super busy. We worked on painting and stripping woodwork upstairs, and I had to hire a bunch of new assists at work. We still found time to go to all of ARRG's roller derby bouts this season.<br />In August we all went to Florida and stayed with Patti and Julie. Sprout learned to swim, Matt ate a ton of shellfish and I learned to harvest sand dollars and sea urchin tests. It was an amazing trip.<br />In September we spent a lot of time reconnecting with friends, including Rosemary, my father's former secretary. It was great for Sprout to meet someone who meant so much to me while I was growing up. I also spent most of September and October volunteering for the Campaign for Change. <br />On October 18th, Barack Obama came to St. Louis and for a rally under the arch. Approximately one million people came out to show their support for him. I was unable to be there, but many people I know were there and even just hearing about the event gave us hope and really helped the campaign. Sprout really enjoyed Halloween this year. He went trick-or-treating with his god-brothers. He was dressed as a cow and said "moo" at every door. Matt and I ate most of the candy ourselves, with Gretchen and Gabe during one of our Trivial Pursuit nights. He didn't need all that sugar anyway.<br />November came, and with it, history was made. We watched the election coverage together, and I was thrilled when Obama was elected president. I am optimistic about his plans for improving our country. I can't wait for the inauguration. Thanksgiving was especially nice, since Anne got to come home and spend it with the family.<br />December has been mostly a "focus on Christmas" and knit like a maniac month. I made three pairs of socks, two pairs of knucks, a scarf and some mittens in two weeks. We baked two gross of cookies, shopped and wrapped and went to a couple of parties. I'd say that's fairly impressive for someone who was chasing a toddler around as well.<br />As the year comes to a close I am anxiously awaiting the completion of refinishing of the floors upstairs, which will be happening sometime next week. We plan to move our bedroom upstairs as soon as the floors are done, and for the first time ever, Sprout will have a room of his own. This will be a major step for us, something we have been planning since we bought the house five and a half years ago. We're also going to try to have another baby this year, so we will really need the room.<br />Okay. That was 2008. On with 2009!sarahkatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06527100705584383864noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10624496.post-63210773299657411882008-12-31T11:59:00.002-06:002008-12-31T12:03:53.538-06:00Year's EndI realized this is my last chance to post to my blog this year. <br />I've been so busy chasing the Sprout around that I have totally neglected my blog and all two of my readers. I doubt they are even around anymore. I'm making a conscience decision to take up the blog again in 2009.<br />I'm going to drive Mattie to work, and when sprout goes down for his afternoon nap today, I'll do a short recap of 2008.<br />I'm starting the new year right this time.sarahkatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06527100705584383864noreply@blogger.com0