PSES

Post seder exhaustion syndrome

Conked out toddler (I could be him.)

Yep, that's what I have.  I'm pooped.  Totally wiped out.  Zonked.  

For those of you who are Jewish and have ever given a seder, you know what I'm talking about.  That total "I can't move a muscle" feeling after the Big Event.  It's a nice feeling, however.

If you are not Jewish, I'll explain in a few words:  On Passover, we tell the story of how the Hebrews left Egypt and slavery so many millennia ago. "Seder" means "order", and we tell the story in a specific way.  We read from a book called the Haggadah, and the Haggadah tells the story for all the children present.  Orthodox Jews will use only Hebrew, but I'm Conservative and we do mostly English with enough Hebrew tossed in for us to feel comfortable.  Half of our guests are not Jewish and don't read Hebrew.  Plus we want the kids to understand the story.  We do have one son-in-law who is Catholic and who taught himself Hebrew to get through the very long Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services.  But that's it.  So, we want everyone to know what's going on, and an English/Hebrew Haggadah works well.  Our Haggadah also gives transliteration, and everyone can follow along.

You say lots of prayers over wine, matzo, bitter herbs, etc, etc.  Lots of symbols.  The highlight of the seder is when the youngest child (or the one who can read Hebrew) recites the Four Questions.  

The Four Questions

What makes this night different from all other nights?
1. On all nights we need not dip even once, and on this night we dip twice!
2. On all nights we eat leavened bread or matzah, and on this night, only matzah!
3. On all nights we eat various vegetables, and on this night, bitter herbs!
4. On all nights we eat sitting upright or reclining, and on this night we all recline!

And then the rest of the seder is answering all these questions.  That's it in a very small nutshell.  Penelope, our almost-12-year old grand, gets to do the Hebrew.  This year, we added in Ben, our 8 year old grand, who masterfully did the English.  And Lili, his 5 year old sister, helped with setting the table and with the hand-washing.  The trick is to get the kids involved, so I ask for their help as often as possible.

We do lots of singing, and I've mined the internet for goofy Passover songs.  There's No Seder Like Our Seder, etc, etc.

It's a lot of fun.

It's a lot of work!!!!!!!  The Hubz and I had to baby-proof as well as do the usual Passover cleaning.  I made enough chicken soup to feed the entire state of New Jersey.  Matzo balls, all the food symbols that explain what's going on, the meal.  You get the picture.  And now the baby, ahem, the Toddler, is toddling around and getting into lots of trouble.  So I set up various exploration sites in the living room and kitchen for him to dump things in and out of. 

The Minnesotans arrived Fri afternoon.  3 of them slept in a nearby hotel, while Miss P stayed with us.  Benjamin the Toddler is not great with restaurants at this stage.  He has this little motor inside that tummy that makes him want to move nonstop.  So I did the breakfast/lunch/dinner thing.  I'm not used to cooking for more than 2 people any more.  But I fed them, and very well, too.

Elder DD came in Sunday night, her guy arrived Mon morning, and then all the rest of the gang came for our 5 PM seder.  We held it very early this year so that the Toddler could be up.  It actually worked out very well.  We never did go back to the service after dinner, not with 3 little kids running around.  The whole thing disintegrated by dessert, but we knew that would happen. 

It was so much fun!  I love it when everyone is together.  And now everyone has gone home, and the house is so quiet, and I'm still pooped.  But I feel a trace of energy coming back.  Yay, energy.  Now if I could just find all the stuff we removed to make the house toddler-safe.

Quilt Monday

Half Square Triangles!  I am determined to master them, and this quilt has only HSTs, so it's now or never.  I'm using a video from the Missouri Star Quilt Company as my guide, and I understand it.  That doesn't mean that I can cut a straight line or sew one either, but the bias from the squares helps me match my points.   Real Quilters will howl with laughter or shake their fingers at me, but hey, I'm enjoying this, so if I have to fudge, I don't care.

My pressing also leaves something to be desired, but here's what I've learned from the few quilts I've finished:  When you wash and dry them, all that lovely quilty crinkly stuff happens and then my wonky cutting, sewing and pressing all work out.

Why is knitting so easy for me and quilting is not?  I tried hand piecing for a little bit, and couldn't get that to line up either.  Oh piffle, I'll just do my thing and enjoy it.  I am getting pretty good at nesting my seams and such.

If only I were not such a perfectionist.  I may be the only quilter who like bias.  It helps me match points.  I guess I'm just biased in its favor.  Groan.

Go away, Quilt Police, I'm never going to be great at this.  But it's fun, and I like it, and I'm the only quilter (such as I am) in the family, so no one has anyone to compare me to. 

Off to clean.  Passover starts next Monday, and I have a ton of cleaning to do.  Yesterday we tackled the living room.  Benjamin, who is now 15 months, is coming.  We have to baby proof.  Today I start the sewing room.  I hate cleaning.  Elder DD told me that we need a focal point for our decorating.  Focal point?  In her dreams.  We just have too much stuff.  So we're tossing like crazy.  I really hate doing this, but with a toddler who will assuredly get into trouble, I have to do this.  It's probably good for us.  Sigh.

The Yarnarian Surfaces Again.

We had the most wonderful 4 days! Miss P, that effervescent and ebullient 7 year old grand, stayed with us while her folks stayed at a local motel. They had a bit of time alone together, and we had all the fun of a 7 year old kid. She is so grown up this Passover. You should have heard her reading her turn from the Haggadah. And we played games, and she commandeered my American Girl dolls, and we cooked and had a grand time. She is a master matzo ball maker! I bet she could have done the entire shaping all alone. And polite! Lots of "yes, please" and "no, thank you". I suspect she was on her best behavior, but who cares. We had such fun and I miss her already.

We went back to a very traditional seder this year. Elder DD ventured forth into West Side Judaica in the city, and bought a bunch of haggadot with English, Hebrew, and transliteration. We figured that the non-Jews at our seder were already comfortable with the service and were ready for the big time, and they were. We even got everyone to do the blessings over the wine in Hebrew, and even some of the songs. Such fun, and the next day I felt like a truck had run over me. giggle.



I have 3 American Girl dolls and a Target knock-off. Miss P brought one of hers with her and had the best time arranging dolls and furniture and changing outfits. She loves to arrange, and every day, we had a new configuration.



Knitting? What? Are you kidding? Hah! It was a nice break though and I'm now happily working on a few projects. Pics maybe tomorrow because as usual, I frogged one of the projects. I frog, therefore I am. rippit, rippit.

Dyeing? Snort, laugh, giggle, snort some more. Folks, I was up to my eyeballs in grandchild doting and seder preparation. And to tell the truth, it was a nice break and I'm starting to get my dyeing mojo back.

Kitten With a Whiplash - yep, it was pretty nice, and now the house is too quiet!

itsJUSTme-wendy - It's even better than having your own kids. tee hee.

baby face - All of our kids are intermarried and all to Catholic people. Miss P identifies herself as being both religions, and is in love with both traditions. So we spent a good time practicing singing Ehad me yodea, which she happily sang at the top of her lungs.

Grace - It was great having the family around, but I really missed my sister and her kids. Ah well, there's always next year. Now, if I could just get the mess cleaned up.....

The Yarnarian's House Is So Quiet!

They left around 10ish this morning and the house is so empty and quiet now. I already miss them.

I did more dishwasher loads in the last week than I have done in the past month! Every time I turned around, another load needed to get done. And laundry? Did a lot of that too.

Seder was wonderful, the usual confusion, giggles, and silly songs, plus the story of Passover got told (which is the real reason for the seder). We went around the tables for the readers, and Miss P did herself proud. I never ever eat at my own big gatherings, and this year was no exception. I had half a bowl of soup with a couple of matzoh balls, and a bit of sweet potato pudding, half a stuffed cabbage, and that was it. And I don't taste as I cook, so big dinners are sort of like diets for me. Now of course, I'm seriously hungry!

Enough of family and holidays and such. Let's get onto the meat of the matter; what's really important: knitting and dyeing. tee hee. Not that there is much to see, but you get what you get.

First of all, here's the mystery cardigan project. OK, it's not such a mystery, but figuring it out is not as easy as it looks. Anyhow, here's the back.



I did a bunch of dyeing today, so no pics because they just got finished steaming and they are still pretty hot! It turns out that I did one almost the same as one that's already on Etsy. I didn't plan it that way; that's what the yarn wanted, so I may keep one of them for myself. I did a Rainbow using pastels and Shelley yarn instead of my usual Penny, and I think it will be charming to knit up. And the neatest dyeing I did was to overdye a skein with a bit of black. Lots of people seem to be doing this, so I thought I'd try it too, and it's deep and mysterious, and I think I'm going to like it. Pics sometime Sunday or Monday, I think.

Charity news: I am donating 3 skeins of yarn and 3 patterns to a NAMI auction in Minneapolis in May. MN DD has volunteered for them, and dearly loves them and asked me to do this. So she picked out 3 very different yarns and we decided on the patterns, and she's going to bundle it together for the auction. This is a most worthy mental health organization, and you can bid on my goodies.

I just completed 4 8" squares for Knit-a-Square. I'm doing this in between everything else, so my count is not very high, but still, I'm pleased, and will continue to knit.

http://www.knit-a-square.com/

http://www.ravelry.com/groups/knit-a-square

Debra - Post pics. I'm soooo nosy!

BBronstein - "Refreshing" librarian is another way of saying "retired" librarian. Only I'm not retired from life, I'm refreshing my life. Indeed, I have a new career: that of designer and dyer of yarns. Such fun. My DIL's mother retired and referred to it as "refreshing" herself, and I thought that was such a great way of looking at it. And now I get to love the library as a civilian.

The Yarnarian is Back, Pooped, But Back!

Let me tell you that playing with an energetic 6 year old can pretty much zonk out a Grammie! Just in case you didn't know it.

I had a wonderful time in Minneapolis. I helped out DD, who is recovering from a very successful surgery, and is doing just fine, chatted with DSIL, and played with Miss P.
Am I pooped? You betcha! Did I have a good time? You betcha! Am I glad to be back home. Yup!

Miss P is a killer Monopoly player. She destroyed Grandma Kathy, and wiped me out.

I walked over to Needlework Unlimited, which is an awesome needlework and yarn shop. Yarns of every type and tons of patterns and books. I did not buy yarn, because it's bringing coals to Newcastle, but I picked up a charming hat pattern and a book, and managed to fit them into my little suitcase.

So, what's on the agenda now? I have to get back to my dyeing, and I have some neat ideas which were inspired by an artice in a Better Homes & Garden magazine. I need to work up the Diagonal Mitered Scarf into a good pattern, write up the pattern for the Ahava socks, etc, etc. And I need a root canal. This I could live without.

And I have to do the Passover prep. Tonight we shop and spend a fortune on kosher for Passover food. Good thing, I like to cook from scratch! And the MN crowd is coming east for the holiday.

Dyeing news: I wind Penny yarn up from cones, and always have yarn leftover, too short yardage for a full skein, but plenty for a half-skein. I want to dye up some of these and sell them just for the fun of it. This way, people can buy whatever they want for trims, scarves, etc. It'll be a bit more work for me. OK, a lot more work for me, but I think I'll have fun with them. And then comes the really fun stuff: I have a number of Gem skeins by Louet to dye up. They've been aging nicely in my yarn storage, and it's time I dyed them up. Such fun!

And very important news!!!!! A bit of grass is coming up in our yard! Yes!

And because I don't want to leave you without eye candy, here's a yarn that I dyed up before my trip, and just reskeined this morning. It's called Wood Grain, and is just lovely, and if someone doesn't grab it, it's mine, all mine. Ha! Original and reskeined:




Ria - Yeah, I'm kind of excited about dyeing them too. It's fun to find small skeins for all sorts of things. It's a great way for me to use up all that extra yarn that's just hanging around all over the joint!

Hey, just before I flew out to MN, we did a field trip to Lake Hopatcong. what a neat area. I don't think I've ever been there before. Talk about boulders!

KV - Didn't we just go through the matzo ball stuff? We did our Passover shopping tonight.

The Yarnarian has NOT vanished; she has company.

I'm alive and well, and pooped!!! Miss P and her dad arrived yesterday. Guess who woke me up entirely too early so that I could make her breakfast and a cup of tea? She is so much fun. I know that I keep saying that, but she really is.

Today we did the playground, library, lunch at the local diner, and the market. How did I ever ever do this as a young mom? I was young, that's how. I'm really tired, but happy.

That's it. I'm going to finish Festooned Frippery! I have another idea for a pattern and it would be fun and relaxing to start it.

Tomorrow night is the first seder! I'll give you a matzo by matzo description afterwards.

Yarns, Glorious Yarns! and Keeping Kosher!

I've got a bunch of new colors, some of which are not yet listed on etsy. Wanna see? (psst: the correct answer is "yes").
Here they are: Tiptoe, Apricotta, and High Wire!





Tonight we are going to buy chicken parts and fixings for Chicken Soup Sunday, our annual chicken soup orgy. This is the day that we haul out the ginormous stock pot, and make a vat of soup. Freeze it and it's already for Passover. You could say: "To Passover and beyond!" It's a pain in the butt to do, and the entire house smells of chicken soup, which is ok, but not for hours. But, then I have soup all ready for matzo balls and for cooking.

Right near the supermarket is a kosher Subway which we are going to try. We are half-kosher Jews: in the home we are mostly kosher, outside the home, we cheat. The "mostly" part is that we will bring in take out from nonkosher places, but we eat it on separate plates and use separate silverwear, aka plasticwear dishes. There are 2 main types of kosher food: milchig (dairy) and fleishig (meat). There is also pareve, which is neither meat nor dairy (like veggies). In the Yarnarian household we add a third party: nichadig. This is our own classification. Non-Jews are now totally confused, and members of the tribe are going "huh?" It's called Creative Cheating.

But on Passover, we behave ourselves and don't cheat at all. That means cooking every bloody meal for 8 days. Gear up, ladies, I'm going to kvetch from now through the end of Passover.

Vocabulary words for the day:

Milchig - dairy
Fleishig - meat
Pareve - neither meat nor dairy
Kvetch - complain and whine
Pesach - Hebrew for Passover. You pronounce that last ch as a gutteral, not as a "ch" sound.
Nichadig - Hubbo's word for cheating on keeping kosher in the home.
Kosher - Jewish dietary practices, as in no piggy stuff, shell fish, and mixing meat
with milk.

There will be a multiple choice test on this post after Pesach (notice that I used the Hebrew here).

Melissa - It's already spoken for.

Knittyvritti - I love matzo meal or brei pancakes! And I make both sinkers and floaters in the same batch. It's magical. Same batter, same water to boil them in, and some come out like cannonballs, while others are ethereal. Go figure. Neither my mother nor I have ever figured it out.

Emily - No! You cannot come for Passover! No, no, no! I have no place to put you. DD, SIL, and Miss P are coming in, and for seder, we have the 3 of them, the 2 of us, BF and Hubby, DD#1 and her guy, and the Brooklyn folks (guy, wife and the Benster.)
Plus I hope, schwester, niece and her guy, and possibly nephew. Where in holy hell am I going to seat them all. Maybe i should leave them all her, and fly out to you!

Holly - I'm not wasting a bit of my precious chicken soup to boil knaidlach in. But I plop them in when heating up the soup so that they do get that chickeny flavor.