Proof That He's Not Faking

The one true way to prove that a child isn't faking an illness is if they get sick on Halloween. Maxie called from school today, he was achey, his throat hurt and he had a fever. I got there just in time for the Halloween parade through the hallways, Maxie was 5 shades of pale, looking so sad and forelorn in the office.

Once home we ibuprophined him and put him to bed, Hannah came home and offered to scam candy for him when she and her friend went trick or treating. By the time they were ready to head out Max felt "better" - yeah, right - but we did let him do a few houses. Once when I was a kid my dad cancelled Halloween because he was mad at my brother and me. That ranks in my memory as just about the worst day of my childhood, so Gerry kept Maxie close to him, they hit a few homes, were gone longer than I would have liked, and now my boy is upstairs sleeping - dreaming of the candy he may have missed...

I stayed at home and manned the candy bowl (big mistake there...), passing out treats to anyone who was wearing a costume. My insistence on the "No Costume, No Candy" rule rang hollow with a few of the kids, but overall they got it. One must be prepared to look like a fool if one wants free candy.

Hannah's best friend has a milk allergy, so she can't eat most of the Halloween stuff. That doesn't stop her from obtaining it, but there's some serious candy sorting that goes on at our house after the festivities; Hannah passes Jaiden everything that is fruit-y, gummy or fruit-juice flavored. Jaiden reciprocates with the milk chocolate. They both give me the stuff with nuts. This year when Jaiden, who is a very good knitter, came to our door I gave her a small ball of Malabrigo (TREAT!) and she was very happy.

Thursday I'll be at Knitty City in NYC for a book signing at 6:00. It's my first no-class-just-a-signing event, so I hope(oh, please!) that it's reasonably well attended. Please. If you're within 80 miles of NYC, just stop by. Please.

Saturday I'll be teaching Knitting for Hand Weavers for the NY Handweavers Guild at the School of Visual Arts. I'm thinking that emphasis on edgings, stretch panels, knit bindings, will be the way to go. And maybe some of that wacky knitted plaid that looks (in my dreams) woven?