Thursday, November 19, 2009

Boring blogger

I realize that at least part of the reason why posts have been sporadic lately is because photography has been sporadic as well. I keep thinking that I'll wait to post until I've taken some pictures to share, but I'm not taking any pictures at all. Mostly I'm running from the moment I leave the house at 7:15 until the moment I get home at oh-my-goodness o'clock, when it's dark (not that I have to get home that late in order to come home in the dark, but you get the idea). None of that is conducive to photography. And, quite frankly, I've been knitting and knitting and knitting on Elektra Redux (and am currently the better part of the way through sleeve two, in case you're keeping track), which isn't that interesting to blog about anyway, since you've already seen the whole process. I am looking forward to knitting something else, although I'm starting to wonder if I'll know how to knit anything but garter stitch when this is over.

I have a slate of projects lined up, including the socks for my niece that I mentioned last time. I also would like to finish Rick's socks. I think that those two pairs might be my conference and travel to Philadelphia knitting. (BTW, how do people from Philadelphia feel about other people calling their city "Philly"? I realized that I do it myself, but knowing how people from the city -- that would be San Francisco, of course, are there any other cities? heh -- feel about "Frisco" or "San Fran", it occurred to me that I probably ought to ask...) I have another small unbloggable project coming up, but I think I'll probably be working on that next week. That will be the Thanksgiving trip to Sacramento knitting (that is, it will be once I've finished Elektra). I also would really love to knit these up for the girls; we have a long tradition of giving them pjs on Christmas eve, and slippers seem like they'd be the perfect go-along. I don't know how realistic that is, but I did get the yarn for them while I was at Yarning For You yesterday, so I'll be knitting them at some point. (I also got myself some laceweight cashmere/silk, oops, but we're not talking about that right now...)

Older Daughter has an orchestra concert tonight (adding to the scheduling insanity of our days, but very exciting as the orchestra has progressed amazingly since her first concert last year!), and I think that I'll be able to knit Elektra during that (if I can keep track of colors and balls of yarn in the dark), so maybe that sleeve will get finished in time for me to get some seaming help before we hit the road on Saturday morning? It's a race to the finish, with mattress stitch on the line; exciting times...

So it's really not that I'm not knitting and thinking about knitting, it's just that I'm not blogging much about it. So I'll leave you with a teaching moment story instead. The other day in class the topic of Easter came up, and someone asked what was up with the bunnies and eggs and things, how do they fit in to the whole Easter story? And I pointed out that they are an overlay from other traditions, because they fit in with the theme of new life, but the bunnies and eggs come from traditions that more explicitly connected to the whole fertility side of new life (oversimplifying a little, but it was an off-topic question). You know, I said, rabbits being fertile animals and all. And, I said, if you think about eggs, there they are, this little white rock-like thing, and then poof! they crack open and you've got a chick.

As I uttered the word "chick", one student sitting in front of me got the most amazing look of dawning enlighenment on his face. I could practically see the lightbulb going off. So I gave him the quizzical teacher look (you know, the one that says, yes? would you like to share?). I don't know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't what he said.

"I always thought that it was the bunnies who laid the eggs!"

I went straight home and made absolutely sure that the girls knew that mammals (barring the platypus and echidna, I was careful to add) do not, I repeat do not, lay eggs.

19 comments:

Rachael said...

It's Philly. I'm sure you can call it that no matter where you live. And Atlantic City is AC, just in case it comes up while you're here. ;-)

I am sending you a youtube video in reference to the bunnies and eggs. I don't think I can post links in comments.

Anonymous said...

No clue as to Philly/Philadelphia, but I lived in Minneapolis for >15 years before I discovered that people in other parts of the country sometimes refer to it as Minnie.

AlisonH said...

Okay, I just shrieked with laughter loud enough for my biologist daughter across the house to come over and then guffaw too.

Mary Lou said...

That is a great moment. Have you heard/read the David Sedaris essay on American vs. French Easter customs? Very funny.

Jane said...

Makes you wonder how he got this far in life! Things like this keep your job interesting

Helen said...

I blame Walt Disney.

Carrie K said...

Bunnies don't lay eggs? Are you certain?

I personally still like Frisco but then again, I'm ancient.

Boring, ha. Busy maybe.

Geri said...

Reminds me of my students in anatomy class who where mystified about the location of the male pig's..., well reproductive organ when not in use. Apparently, they never noticed that their male dogs and cats don't ... well hang out 24/7 like human males or they had never thought about where it went when not in use. The looks on their faces was well, classic.

I so love those slippers

Willow said...

Haha! It's pretty amazing isn't it, what kids don't know. One can only hope that he was joking...

Anonymous said...

OMG I just about died laughing from your student's comments! That is exactly something one of my students might say . . .

Good luck with the projects. I am not being anything like that productive right now. Of course, kleenex with lotion are a problem for knitting. They make my hands stick unpleasantly to the needles. Hopefully, I'll be done with the illness soon.

Take care.
Sarah/scienceprincess

EGunn said...

Not boring at all. I completely understand the miles of garter stitch problem...there's a good reason you haven't seen much of my Kauni sweater!

Oh, and teaching moments are priceless, aren't they? Maybe he thought that bunnies laid eggs in the Easter tradition, and not in real life? (I hope!) That I would blame on the Cadbury bunny. I still think that one of the biggest gifts a teacher can have is the ability to keep a straight face at all times. Would have been tough here, though.

Gwen said...

Garter stitch is a lovely thing, in the right place. Concert may be the right place.

Didn't Herb Caen call it Frisco? Did I remember his name right? Way back in the days of the pink pages, when my grandfather was still around.

I'm fiddling with knitting. One mitten needs a thumb. I'm restarting, again, the teacher mitts. Must wind up more yarn for the second mitten, and somehow I haven't found the time to do it. At least I'm not traveling!

Nana Sadie said...

OMG. BUNNIES? Lay EGGS?
We are so in trouble....
((((hugs))))

Mary said...

Another good one -- right up there with the tutorial on infixes, which my family *loved*. My 8th graders (twins) passed the infix entry along to their language arts teacher and she told them it "made her day". Thanks!

Alwen said...

That Cadbury bunny! There is some value to living in SW Outer Nowhere and getting eggs from the people with chickens wandering around the yard!

I'm blaming my lack of blogging on the lack of light. I need a picture to get started, and it's so dark!

Unknown said...

Love your blog. Love you. Hop hop.

twinsetellen said...

If the eggs come from bunnies, I am really afraid to ask what the chocolate eggs are.

Bea said...

That story is priceless. I hope you got time to knit during the concert.

Anonymous said...

I totally understand that kid! Since the Easter bunny is not real, for heaven's sake, his little child's mind made up an equally unreal conclusion. Didn't we all do that? Some of us just hold onto it longer.