My youngest sister, who is also my youngest sibling, is 20 today. When she was a baby and I went places with her, people thought I was her mother. I could tell by the way they whispered about how young I was. Now she is TWENTY. Nate and Sophie look a lot like her, which is really interesting, since she and I don’t look much alike. On Saturday Lexy turns 8. I’m gonna turn around and Willow will be 20. I don’t like thinking about that, so a couple more hiking pics:

I think the highlight of my day had to be when I found Sophie in the living room, both smearing pinto beans and whacking her fist on the glass of the water monitor’s (big big lizard) (also: scary) cage, while yelling, “Wake up lizard, it daytime!!”

But maybe it was when Sophie refused to leave the house to get Lexy from school early so he could visit the dentist, followed by her running away from me at the school enough times to make us late enough to have to reschedule.

Or it could have been the part where I was trying to talk on the phone and she decided that it was time to color eggs. That failing, she decided it was time for HER to crack an egg into a pan so SHE could cook and eat it. This didn’t go her way either, so she decided that while her mother could crack the egg, SHE HEROWNSELF would have to stir the egg while it cooked and add the salt. These decisions were all made by screaming as fucking loud as possible. Try it sometime! Don’t know if you should wear your new boots or those old but comfortable shoes to work?? SCREAM as loud as you can about it. And don’t forget to insult whomever is nearby by calling them a stupid rat. Also call them ugly. And don’t forget to say you hate them. Just make sure to then cry silently and pout, while asking in a trembling voice if you are still loved.

It looks like John has found a new job. He won’t know for another day or so if he has a full-time (benefits, salaried, paid time off) or a full-time/part-year (no benefits, hourly, no work in November or December) position. I’m hoping for the full-time, but he’s up against two people who already work there, so chances are sorta slim. But, the hourly pay is decent, and I’m sure hopeful that he’d get a full-time gig before too long. The job is amazing, either way. He’ll be teaching at a fifth and sixth grade science camp (run by the county office of education) in the mountains right next to the park where we got married. The kids come and stay from Monday morning till Friday afternoon, with lots of lessons, hikes, campfires, and games. He’s so perfect for that job. If he gets the part-time slot he’ll have to find a seasonal retail job or something for the two months coming up, but that ought to be simpler than what he’s been going through looking for full-time employment. We’ll be breathing easier around here after we find out what the scoop is. Wish him luck.

I’m knitting a washcloth. I am not a very talented knitter, but I am persistent. I began with 35 stitches across, but now I mysteriously have 40, complete with sides that are not very straight. I think that on a few stitches I split the yarn with my needle, and when I did the next row, I knit in an extra stitch on the two split pieces. Does that make sense? I’ll take a photo when I’m done. Who knows when that will be, though. I have to get as many ornaments as possible made for a craft fair the first weekend in December (it’s on John’s birthday! He gets to take care of the kids! All day! What fun!). If I make as much as I plan, and if I sell what I make, I should earn enough to pay for a big chunk of the shopping. If I can figure out the knitting thing, I can make some nice gifts, too. The most irritating thing about knitting, for me, is that I get a Will Smith song stuck in my head, Get Jiggy With It, (which I have NEVER EVEN HEARD!!) only I substitute “get knitty with it,” in a tuneless, never having heard the song kind of way. It’s driving me crazy. At least I have an excuse.