I’ve been spending time with the Backyard Leaves scarf lately. It’s made in two halves; I finished the first half before Christmas and then just kind of lost my enthusiasm for it until now. So far, I’ve gotten through four repeats of the pattern, which leaves only eight more to go. (It takes me a little over an hour to get through a repeat…I’m either the slowest knitter alive or the pattern is just hard to get through…you cannot memorize this thing!)

Can you see the leaves? I worry that I made a very bad choice in yarn for this and that it will be hard to decipher the pattern when it’s done. I’m crossing my fingers that blocking will really make this scarf bloom into something pretty.

I know who this is for…and I’m aiming to have this done by the end of March, but I’m wondering if I should send it when it’s done or just put it in the gift pile and wait until next winter/Christmas to send it? I also have a scarf picked out to make for the significant other of the gift recipient, so I think I’d like to wait until I at least have both done before sending them on their way. I have this grand vision of a “Scarf-filled Christmas,” in which all my family receives a scarf for the holiday…wouldn’t that be cool? But then I force myself to remember that I’m about to have another child and I have no clue how that is going to affect things. And then my pre-existing children are moving into the world of extracurricular activities, which really sucks up your time. So I’m not committing to the Scarf Christmas idea…but it sure would be neat. One of these years…very far into the future.

Speaking of the impending third child:
Thar she is. (Just in case you’re wondering what the fraggly-looking thing at the bottom is–that’s Rabbit’s head…she’s clingy while she gets over being sick…) We’re at 36.5 weeks, people. 3.5 weeks to go, but I’ve been known to deliver in as little as 1.5 weeks from now. The anticipation is heightening, mostly because I am getting so uncomfortable. I feel like a manatee. I don’t do much moving at all because the ligaments and tendons that connect my legs to my torso just feel so incredibly over-burdened with this extra weight and walking just plain hurts sometimes. She is head down, though; she had been breech for a while, but has finally turned. *sigh of relief* She kicks me in the kidneys and it makes me cry. (Oh, the inhumanity of having to experience internal kidney blows!) She rests her heels on my ribs and it hurts. I have non-stop heartburn and only eat two times a day because there is just no room to put more food into me than that. (I think God does this to us on purpose so that we will happily trade it all in for sleepless nights and breastfeeding…right now, those things sound deliriously easy and far more comfortable.) *weak woo-hoo* Almost done…and then we’ll get to embark on the wonderful world of post-partum weight loss!!! Can you feel the excitement?!?!