April 24, 2006
Sistahs Are Doin' It For Themselves!
Part of this weekend was spent working on a surprise I can’t talk about yet because it’s not mine to tell. Maybe Wednesday?
Oh, wait, the word is out! I can now safely report that we spent Saturday helping Elaine execute a “While You Were Out”-type commando remodel of a room while her partner was in Georgia.
I have to say I was seriously in awe of Shirley, Trish, Angela, Elaine and TMK’s skills. I may be the child of a more-liberated generation, but I never get used to the sight of competent and confident women easily and calmly performing a plethora of “non-traditional” activities without batting an eye. Before our arrival, the other women had uninstalled the baseboard heater; torn down old drywall; removed old floor tiles; taken a large load to the dump; and bought all the supplies. After we arrived and TMK joined in, they cut, sized and installed the new wallboard; screwed it in; mudded; taped; fixed gaping holes in the wall; reinstalled the baseboard heater; and cut down an old futon frame and reassembled it to make two dog beds. Me, I didn’t do much except gripe at TMK for not having brought snacks to keep her blood sugar up; drive Elaine to the hardware store, partly so she could enjoy her first-ever ride in a convertible with its top down, complete with arms in the air and loud "Woo-hoo's!!!;" hold the bucket of drywall mud; and sweep. Oh, and say things like, “Ooooo, you look so strong!,” and “Ooooo, that looks so heavy!” and “Oooo, I could never do that!” in a breathless, Marilyn Monroe way which, I had been told, was my main job.
But the true capper was after Elaine declared the room Done For The Day, we all went to Trish and Angela’s house…and they whipped up dinner. I just love that about women. They fly to the moon, come home, whip up dinner. They perform a heart transplant, come home, whip up dinner. They rescue children from a burning building, come home, whip up dinner. They wrestle a would-be assailant to the ground, haul his sorry ass off to jail, come home, whip up dinner. They search for victims in earthquake-ravaged areas, come home, whip up dinner. In our case, true, the main entrée was a guilt-offering generously provided by another woman who had had to drop out of the project, but the rest—the salad, the green beans and ham, and the chocolate chip cookies—was supplied by a showered and freshly coiffed Trish and Angela, who one hour before had been covered in dust, dirt and wallboard mud and had been installing drywall and running electrical wires.
Women: The Swiss Army Knife of humankind.
I dabbled in some yard work on Sunday—which I’ll write more about on Wednesday—and squeezed in some knitting, primarily finishing the Wing and a Prayer Sweater.
Ever the conservative, I’d been planning on using small brass buttons, but the consensus at Ferals had been that I needed to use orange buttons, specifically, burnt-orange buttons that would match the burnt-orange color in the yarn. While I nodded, seemingly in assent, I was actually thinking, “Hah! I’m off the hook! There ain’t no such thing as a burnt orange button.” Wrong. I refer you to the picture.
I’m halfway through another version of the same sweater, using some aquamarine-to-navy variegated Schaefer merino...
...and have started a third version which I call the “Staring Contest With Fate” Sweater since, once again, I’m not really sure I’m going to have enough yarn for the project. Here's hoping Fate blinks.
Oh, and before I forget, today’s entry is dedicated to Lisa who, like Kathy the Tax Accountant, is the latest person to read the entire blog. Welcome, Lisa!!!
Good luck with that staring contest. Win enough times, and Fate's gonna bring a water gun.
I LOVE that purple-trimmed sweater. If I were small enough to wear it, I'd also not be above begging and pleading to own it. The buttons rock.
I love the "Swiss Army knife" analogy.
And, I didn't realize till now what a total girl you are. Cute and all, but a total girl.
Mary B
PS Love the sweaters. And the Orange buttons are to die for.
Posted by: Mary B on April 24, 2006 02:09 PMMary, there are two kinds of buttons I never imagined myself putting on a sweater: (1) Burnt-orange buttons and (2) oversized buttons. The buttons I used are both. Ack! What's happening to me?!
Carrie, the sweater turned out much better than I expected it to. To the extreme, it was one of those projects that just looked like a shapeless blob until you seamed it, wove in the ends, and put the buttons on--and then, ta-dah!! A real sweater! Who knew?!
Posted by: Ryan on April 24, 2006 02:27 PMWell, you had to know I have a "women in the trades" story, didn't ya?
The date: November 1987. The place: St. Albans, Vermont. The more specific place: Our house in the process of construction.
My job: Married working mom of an almost 3-year-old girl. Oh, and did I mention? General Contractor. Yup, I was the G.C. for the building of a 4,000-sq.ft. house. Still can't believe it. And there were some hairy moments -- like when the excavator grabbed me and kissed me. (thankfully his job was all over at that point, because who wants to have to find a new excavator!?) And the hardwood flooring guy mistook me for not the owner, but "a woman in the trades" (for which he had SO MUCH RESPECT, dontcha know!) Ugh. But the place is still standing. Hee.
Love the sweaters.
Posted by: Norma on April 24, 2006 03:02 PM"uninstalled the heater"
Spoken like a true techie! The rest of the world would simply have said the heater was removed or taken out. ;-)
Posted by: Laurie on April 24, 2006 03:15 PMPlease note how handily I am holding up the wall in the picture (yellow shirt). I am using the standardly accepted hands clasped behind the back pose reccomended by OSHA. That wall needed a lot of holding up, I rose to the challenge.
Ryan & TMK, thanks for all the help and support!
Posted by: Elaine on April 24, 2006 03:19 PMWow! What a bunch of, er, um, I don't quite know what to call them -- Wonder Women, maybe. I loved the da-da, da-da, whip up dinner thing. And the Swiss Army Knife of humankind. Ryan, you need to write a book. Yarn Harlot did it, Wendy did it, Mason-Dixon did it. You're next, I tell you.
Whilst sorting my stash today I kept coming upon yarns that said, Knit me NOW. Then I realized that my two main projects are temporarily on hold pending a long-distance fitting. Woo-hoo! Cast on for some Dulaan hats.
Posted by: Kathy the Tax Accountant on April 24, 2006 07:21 PMThe sweaters are adorable!
Posted by: Christina in Washington on April 24, 2006 07:53 PMAh, you were what my friend Tony refers to as The Lemonade Girl. It's his favorite job.
Posted by: Ann C. Miner on April 24, 2006 08:59 PMSeveral years ago my sister and I worked on a Habitat for Humanity house built entirely by women. I'll never forget the day we discovered that 2 of the outer walls were out of square. A peanut of a woman named Jackie hoisted a sledge hammer, executed one mighty whack and declared *square now!*
Posted by: marylee on April 25, 2006 03:01 AMGorgeous sweaters! I'm gonna have to knit me one of those!
Posted by: Kirsten on April 25, 2006 05:07 AMLove the sweater and the orange buttons are great.
I have 2 Dulaan items and hope to have 2 more before the deadline.
Posted by: CarolineF on April 25, 2006 05:20 AMI have to say if the brigadiers' recent blog posts are any indication, there are going to be some mighty well dressed kids in Mongolia next winter!
Well done.
Posted by: mbt on April 25, 2006 06:01 AMOh and I meant to add:
Once in awhile when I'm installing or fixing some thing around the house, I'll say to Emily: "I want you to remember that your mommy knew how to use a drill."
The swiss army knife statement is perfect. I think there is one really important person in every home remodeling/improvement project. At my house, it is my husband. That person's job is to say the following "That looks great", "What an improvement", "Are you hungry/thirsty? I'll get you whatever you'd like." That person is also the one who is required to tell everyone they meet in the next two weeks about the fabulous improvement in the home. You too have these essential skills -- good work!
Posted by: Donna on April 25, 2006 04:34 PMSo true about the "whip up dinner". Men come in and collapse and whine about how tired they are. Women do the same job, whip up dinner, and put the kids to bed all while doing the laundry. Women. We're the best.
Posted by: Ellen on April 26, 2006 05:55 AMBeautiful sweater! What pattern are you using? Would love to make one.
Posted by: Manise on April 27, 2006 05:38 AM