Finished Another Project

For months I've been knitting with this mint green yarn and I finally finished the baby blanket.  Whew!  I definitely wanted to finish it otherwise I would have had to lug it back home, work on it some more, and mail it back to the baby.  The pattern was complicated and 32 rows long.  I kept my place with a paper clip as I knitted each row.  But now it is done and looks huge for this baby.  She'll grow into it I'm sure.

Evangeline, A Tale of Archadie

I just finished reading Evangeline, A Tale of Archadie by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I got a history lesson in the process.  This story is actually a long poem and is written about the historical events of the British forcing a French village in Canada to vacate the town and leave all their belongings to the King.  Some of the people left to go to Cajun area of Louisianan.  Others went to New England.  This story is about a young woman who just becomes engaged.  Her fiancee and his father leave on one boat.  She waits at the shore with her father who dies before it is time to leave.  She buries her father and leaves her home to find her fiancee.  This is just about the saddest story I have ever read.  I did enjoy the descriptions of the family life, the scenery, and the travel.  I quickly got used to reading the poem.  This story is less poem like that most poems.  Although Evangeline is a fictional character there are statues of her in Louisianan and in Nova Scotia.  Evangeline is famous!  I hope my granddaughter's life is nothing like this Evangeline though .

Nice Walk Today

I've been taking walks down to Dyes Inlet and the Lions Park.  Today I lucked out and discovered a black tailed deer fawn standing next to a roadside creek.

A crow let me get pretty close to it as it found something tasty to eat and pulled it out of the water.

The crow moved it's lunch to this rock.  I've seen crows and Pacific gulls pick mussels out of the water, fly high above the road, and drop the mussels to crack open the shells.  Then the birds fly down and eat the mussels and leave the shells on the road.  The birds do this quite a bit.  As I walk along the road I step on the shells because they make a satisfying crunch sound under my sandals.

Caught Her Smiling

I could sit and stare at this baby for hours.  When she's in a deep sleep her face doesn't move much but as she progresses towards waking she starts making a variety of faces.  Her little eyes move under her eyelids so she must be dreaming.  She'll frown.  She'll pull one side of her mouth up.  She'll suck in her sleep.  She'll make duck lips.  She'll purse her lips into a tiny "O."  And she makes a lot of noises. Every one of her noises is cute of course.  She grunts and groans, hiccups and burps, makes little mewling noises and anxious throat noises.  Children are so entertaining.

We Will, We Will Rock You!

I can sit and stare at a baby for hours and never know what they feel.  Does she know when she is held?  Does she realize someone is caring for her?  Is she beginning to trust that her needs will be met?  Can she see my face?  I hope she can't smell my breath sometimes.  Does she really like Queens "We Will Rock You" and the beer barrel polka or is it just coincidence that she stops crying when I sing it to her?

Once she gets to the point of opening her mouth like a baby robin and moving in all directions hoping to latch onto a nipple, singing isn't going to take her mind off anything anymore.  She has a one track mind sometimes and she is quite assertive.  And that is a good thing.  She is a fighter!  But I know that sometimes she wants to suck for reasons other than hunger.

I tell her that her Mommy can't be a human pacifier but does she listen?

Ferry Ride

I accompanied Offspring #2 on her travels by taking the ferry from Bremerton into Seattle.  Here we are coming into Seattle.

We walked from the ferry down to Pike's Market.  We passed the Seattle Art Museum on the way.  Outside they have a giant black moving statue of a man wielding a hammer.

We walked around Pike's Market.  We bought some fruits and vegetables at the Famers Market.  We had lunch downtown.  She headed toward the airport on the light rail while I took the ferry back to Bremerton.  Here I am leaving Seattle.

Seattle is a pretty city.  The views are awesome.  In exchange for great views of water, the residents of Seattle put up with terrible traffic snarls.  Cars on Interstate 5 were stop and go.

The ride takes about an hour.  The fare from Bremerton to Seattle is free.  The fare from Seattle to Bremerton is $8 for a pedestrian, more for bikes and even more for cars.  I would guess this ferry held about 70 cars.

On the first post is a group of 10 pelagic cormorants.  I see them all over the place but it took me a few days to make a good identification.  I also saw a white winged scoter (black duck with red legs).

Even a tiny creature like a six pound baby can learn fast. She already knows she has the room now to stretch out her arms and push out her little legs.  She has learned how to suck.  She has learned that her favorite position is attached to a nipple.  If she is awake and the nipple in not there she opens her mouth like a little baby bird and moves her head in all directions looking for it.  Look at this kissable feet of hers.  Where will they take her?  Will she be a dancer or a soccer player or a postal employee?  How many continents will she travel?  Will she be restless or settled?  The opportunities for these tiny tooties are unlimited.