Of Boars and Fishies

[mightyjesse]

Boar's Head was fun, but crazy. I've discovered that if I don't look at the schedule BEFORE I GET ON SITE, I don't end up doing anything but running around visiting like a chicken with no head. And even though I didn't attend a single class, I STILL didn't manage to get all my visiting done. I had intended to sit down with Katriona to talk weaving, but we were together for no more than 3 minutes before Zig came to drag me off to a household induction. It was good and happy-making, since John seems to be a very talented and good sort, but I missed talking to Kat.

I totally got my bebe fix huffing Katie and Murdoch's baby Aurora while they broke down their merchanting booth. I just wish I could hold a baby without all the snarky comments about how "I'm a Natural."

Duh. I'm the oldest of 4 kids and my mom is STILL running a daycare out of her house. Even when my Mom personally ran out of babies, there were more babies for me to cart around. OF COURSE I CAN HOLD A BABY WITHOUT IT LOOKING AWKWARD. After you've held one while vacuuming, AND running a load of laundry, AND directing several toddlers not to fight - doing nothing but holding a kid is easy. Just because I know how to hold a munchkin properly does not mean that I'm trying to have one RIGHT NOW. Competence and desperation are NOT THE SAME, FOLKS. *RANT, RANT, RANT.*

While I was NOT holding Aurora, I was working on this fishy hat:


Which I didn't even get to finish... I wore it to work before I had the felt to make the eyes with and a lady I work with BOUGHT IT OFF MY HEAD SANS EYES. She has googley eyes at home that she will attach. She claims her husband is going to be totally jealous. I think he will be too if he has any taste... ;-)

Comments

[without-within.livejournal.com]

That is a pretty outstanding hat.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Hat good.

Re: bebes: yes. Yesyesyes. "I am good with babies" does not mean "I want to have a baby," and "I want to have a baby" does not mean "it is a good idea for me to have a baby nine months from today if possible," and I wish people would GET THAT INTO THEIR HEADS BEFORE I HAVE TO USE A BOOT TO PLACE IT THERE.

[gwyneth1362.livejournal.com]

I wish I had had time to actually talk to you at the event. And if you and Katriona sit down to talk weaving, can I sit in? Pretty please?

The baby comment/question I always get is "Oh, are you getting your baby fix? How sweet." No baby fixes - I like kids, including babies. It doesn't automatically make me want one, or satisfy any "unsatisfied" maternal urges.

Love the hat.

[mightyjesse.livejournal.com]

Baby Huffing is a distinctly SEPARATE hobby from Baby Making. One can be a thoroughly invested Baby Huffer without being a member of the other group, and vice versa... Apparently, this is not a distinction that non-baby people make...

[teffan.livejournal.com]

Cool about the hat!!

[newperspectives.livejournal.com]

wow! That hat is awesome! You win.

[gflower.livejournal.com]

LOOOOOOVE the hat!

[mightyjesse.livejournal.com]

The Fishy Pattern (http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter08/PATTfishy.php) is from the Knitty.com Winter Edition.

[zarhooie.livejournal.com]

Hat = FTW.

[damej.livejournal.com]

I understand your annoyance. At our SCA wedding, a group of guests came up to us during the feast and presented a humorous song with the subject "just wait until you have kids." Someone handed me a baby just before they started singing (the parents were among the singers). The baby started crying loudly, which everyone found highly amusing, as it emphasized the point of their song. However, I quickly realized that the baby was crying because the bodice and sleeves of my Italian Ren gown were covered in beads, which the baby found rather uncomfortable.

The perpetrators were oblivious, and while they finished their song, I shifted the poor baby so that her head and neck were resting only on the palm of my hand, not my beaded sleeves, and her back was on my unbeaded lap. Everyone laughed, thinking I was too inept to hold a baby comfortably (despite years of babysitting experience, even with infants).

While we assumed at the time that we would have children one day, that day never came (for a variety of reasons). I have lost count of the number of people (from relatives to casual acquaintances) who seemed to think my childbearing plans (or lack thereof) were their business. Most thought they were just making polite conversation (as if such a personal subject were akin to discussing the weather). A couple continued to pressure me for my reasons for remaining childless, which made me very uncomfortable. I wish now that I had followed the counsel of the advice columnists and just looked at them coolly and said: "Whyever do you wish to know?"

[goldfrog.livejournal.com]

Why is it that childbearing is considered to be an appropriate topic of conversation? I would never, ever ask someone if they want to have kids, or how it's going, or why they do or do not want to. It's like asking them what color their underwear is, but far more personal. It just seems like a ridiculous question to ask, and one that is guaranteed to cause great discomfort for the person being asked.

But I guess I'm in the minority. I just don't get it.

[goldfrog.livejournal.com]

Loooooove the hat!