I thought this was the South

From 2010 Finished Objects

As you may have noticed from the picture of the finished socks with the heart stopping blue stripe, there was snow in dem dar hills. We had our annual day of snow last Monday. The four inches was ample fodder for the annual Clover snowball fight, which was complete with knitted hat:

From Buzz

And snow stained clothing:

From Buzz

We built the annual snowman and off course, had the obligatory cup of hot chocolate by a roaring fire. These are the types of obligations I love. To top it all off, the snow came back today with a slight dusting and beautifully lovely large flakes. There's something to be said about watching the Winter Olympics while knitting and seeing snow drift down from the skies. Happy Winter!

Move over Chicken Little

I finished the sock and continued to loved the blue. Having some completely mindless stockinette was a god sent this past week. Things have been a little hectic. Little Clover received a lot of big kid accessories for his room and it was time to make the conversion. I called a painter to get some quotes, we set a date, and then completely packed up the contents of his room and shoved it in a disorganized state into our spare room. He had a lot of stuff.

The painters were supposed to come last Friday. I'd arranged to work from home and the remainder of that weekend would be spent in putting Little Clover's room back together, and I would beginning transitioning him on the blog from "Little Clover" to something else. Then, the sky fell, literally and figuratively.

We have textured ceilings in our house. The painters were to remove the textured ceiling in Little Clover's room, then in a few weeks, make their way into the master bathroom. I think the master bathroom got jealous because the textured ceiling began to fall in chunks last Wednesday night, while Little Clover was taking a shower. It was messy. We (actually, Italian, I stayed out of the way) scraped away at the ceiling late into the night and I packed up the master bath. Now, we had serious clutter and our lives were scattered around the four corners of our home, but that was going to be ok, the painters were coming Friday and our lives would be restored by Sunday.

I bet you can guess things didn't pan out that way. That Friday brought our first ice storm in about 10 years, which in turn, pretty much closed the city. The painters reschedule for Sunday, which only threw off my plan by two days. I could adjust. We enjoyed the ice, marveling at how pretty the trees and the grass looked encase in glimmering frozen water.

From Irish Clover

Then, the painters cancelled for Sunday. Work is a little too hectic for me to try and arrange another work from home day, and I really needed to be able to get to my toothbrush without moving a fish tank, Little Clovers assortment of rocks and toys, and dancing around the shelves that were once in his room. I decided the painting needed to be done now. In an effort to preserve our sanity, Italian volunteered to handle the messiness that is removing a textured ceiling.

I bought painting supplies. Xavier Guy came over to help and Little Clover joined in the mix.

From Irish Clover

We scrapped and scrapped, and prepped, and scrapped some more. My new goal was to have the painting done, and the rooms somewhat back in order before the big game Sunday. At a bare minimum, I want my toothbrush back in it's old corner of our bathroom.

We made the goal, and if there is any question as to where our loyalties lie, I'll let Little Clover's room answer that.

From Irish Clover

Let's go Colts!

From Irish Clover

Love, true love, has brought us together today

Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage by Elizabeth Gilbert


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I finished Committed, and am at an understanding with the book. I would say this book is worth a read, but as a reader, one must be committed to the book. A reader has to go into this book with an open mind (a few of Gilbert's views may be too liberal for some) and a reader absolutely must finish the book. This is not the type of book one can pick up, read a few chapters of and then put down. You'll walk away with an incomplete viewpoint and it isn't fair to you nor is it fair to Gilbert to not finish this book once you start it. In this way, the book itself is an excellent metaphor to marriage and relationships.So, why did I read the book? There were no imminent questions about marriage in my life requiring reflection. Italian and I are happy in our marriage and have really grown up together, supporting each other along the way. Honestly, I picked up the book because I wanted to know if Elizabeth got married. Why did I care? Because it seemed obvious to me they were in love at the end of Eat, Pray, Love. That was it. The book, then, was a surprise in its discourse on the institute of marriage, and I realized while reading it that I have also separated the concepts of being bound by love to another person and the social construct of legally binding two people into a specialized contract. I've viewed the contractual arrangement of marriage and the aspects of love and intimacy as two distinct parts of being married, and they happen at different times. Sometimes, one is even missing.Overall, without "giving away" the book and without betraying the intimate aspects of my marriage, I would say Gilbert's book is a modern look at marriage and her reflection on the topic is at a level often missing in today's world. Just like a good marriage, if you start it, you do have to invest time into it, hearing out her arguments, and seeing how she finds peace. For those getting married, it's a good read to spark discussion. For those married, it's a good read to spark discussion. For those contemplating if they ever want to get married, I think this book will be especially poignant. Getting married is a very public display of an extremely personally decision, and Gilbert's public display of her struggle with the decision may be relevant or insightful.

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