Edie's OOC

[Lady Edfeil]

Let's try this! *chuckles*

[Lady Edfeil]

First of all I wanted to say thank you to Lady Dream for setting this up! I hope it will add a lot of enjoyment for everyone here!

[Lady Edfeil]

Perhaps I should mention the historic elections that are taking place today, so that when I read back over this, in years to come, I can remember what everyone was talking about. But will this post be special in a number of years? And will this election have been as historic as they say?
There is a funny thing about the word 'historic'. All it really means is that something is part of history, or if used in a different way, that something changes history. But every moment that you live or breath changes history. My decision this morning on what to eat changes history. The diaper I changed changes history. Every small decision, whether it is your choice of clothing, of food, of what to buy or what to do, is a part of the rich tapestry that will form your history.
During research, one of the greatest sources for Historians are not really the treaties that have been signe, even though those are the things that end up in museums. What tells us infinitely more about our ancestors are their diaries. We don't just want they did, but why. How they lived their life. One of my new favorite books of all times "No idle hands: the social history of American Knitting" takes us into the lives of women, from the first colonists to ninenteenseventies college girls. We look through diaries and letters and see lives filled with completely different activities. We understand more how great social changes came to be by the amount of time that needed to be spend on spinning and weaving, on knitting for the troops. We understand better how a woman was perceived differently as tasks that needed to be done with great skill by hand were replaced by machines
History is not just made in battles, it is made in the crumbs of the breakfast table this morning. In the conversations struck up in lines waiting outside the polls today just as much as in the votes that will be cast.
History is made in a smile that you send to a stranger, and the kiss that you give to your child. You never know if that smile will encourage someone on a bad day, will give him a laugh to look at life again, might make him into a more confident man, which leads him to find and ask a wonderful woman to be his wife, who gives him a wonderful child, that turns out to become the next president of the united states. And all just because you smiled. Well... maybe not just because of that, but still... the point is that we all make history. One breath at a time.

[Lady Edfeil]

Why I love my husband. I can probably write a whole host of reasons why I love my husband, and I remember quite clearly the moment I tumbled completely in love with him: over a game of trivial persuit at my mothers house. Only a mind as quirky as my husband would be able not only to win the departemental election prediction pool.... but also to write an acceptance speech afterwards, worthy of any real political candidate. Without further ado, I give you this historic speech.


My fellow Americans (and appropriately credentialed resident aliens),

At times like these, one is humbled by the immense opportunities of this great land of ours. In no other country on this earth would our Founding Fathers have been able to design an electoral system so deliberately complicated as the one we enjoy today. Therefore, I can only be thankful to live in a country that allows us not only to create a challenging election pool, but would allow a mere news junkie like me to rise to the top of this group.


The last couple weeks of this campaign have been hard on all of us. In particular, I’d like to thank my wonderful wife Eva and my son Joseph for supporting me through countless hours of CNN political coverage and web surfing. Without their help, I never would have learned all of the trivial and useless information that made this day possible. I’d also like to thank my colleagues, especially John Gordanier, for suggesting many days ago that I should enter in to this Presidential contest. I’d also be remiss to leave out former Vice-President Al Gore, without whom I would not have access to the Internet and would otherwise have to spend time on more productive pursuits.

Finally, I must also extend a warm hand of thanks to Senators McCain and Obama. Their campaigns were hard-fought at times, but even as Election Day neared, they remained largely predictable. For that, we should all be grateful, no matter what our political preferences.

Now, we must look to the future. The challenges ahead of us are great, but I have faith that we can all put this quadrennial obsession that we call democracy behind us. With trust in our ability to focus on the present, I sincerely expect that we will be up to not discussing the next election until at least January of 2010.

May God bless us all, and may God continue to bless America.

--Bill

PS. Hauk 2012... sounds rather good, right?

[SighehelmofKent]

-waves hello to Bill -

Err.......Edie? What the heck is : departemental election prediction pool? Can it be sub titled for the USA challenged among us?

-seriously fears you are being americanised and hates every filament of that notion-

-Hugs Edie, and grins-

[Lady Edfeil]

Well, in the pool they predicted which candidate would win which states. Bill got all the states, except one, correct.

Saturday... the schedule is off... off...off.
We went to Hilton Head for the weekend, because I needed some new clothes. There are outlet malls here, where you can buy things at a much cheaper price.
I spend friday at home with Joseph.... it was the most amazing day: the sun was shining and the weather was absolutely beautiful. I think it was well over twenty degrees celcius, almost eighty degrees fahrenheit. There were colourful leaves all over the yard and Joseph had a ball just running around and grabbing stuff, acorns, leaves, little rocks... He went down the slide, swung on the swing....
it was wonderful. What was less wonderful was the evening. During the two and a half hour drive to Hilton Head we stopped for something to eat. Normally if we have fastfood, Joseph gets a smoothie. it's healty, has fruit in it and he loves it. At Wendy's however, there were no smoothies... just a strawberry milkshake. We thought... oh well... and yes indeed he did like it.
He also however got a sugar high. He didn't want to go to bed till almost 11 pm. Daddy and mommy were exhausted.
Today we did some shopping. Mommy got a new dress and two new sweaters. But the biggest item, the winter coat still eludes. Either we will buy one tomorrow, or we will wait till next week and find one in Columbia.
Shopping for clothes has become difficult. I feel like I need to adapt my style at my new way of life as a wife and a mom. I want to look like 'me' but not like someone who is stuck. I chose a pumplkin coloured v neck sweater and a dark raspberry coloured soft pull over. The dress is something difficult to discribe, but I hope to put a picture up some time later.

[Lady Edfeil]

The last few weeks my new found schedule went to pieces. After a visit of friends and a stuborn cold that terrorized our household, it was back to sleeping whenever I could and things here fell by the wayside. I am not good at getting up at the same time with baby because I miss my quiet time in which I get a lot of things done. This blogpost for example. But also some prayertime and knitting time which helps me start the day on the right feet.
So today, I went back to getting up at 6.45. It wasn't easy since I probably only managed to fall asleep after midnight. I know it will be worth it during the rest of the day though. At least that is what I am telling myself now, and what I remember from a few weeks ago.
My plans for the day are simple: I will tend to Joseph first and foremost. I will work on a website, tidy the kitchen and make a simple schedule for the rest of the week: I need two days for website work. One desk day. One ironing day. And one writing day. That is the basic of it, aside from of course cleaning and cooking! And aside from the fact that tuesday is library day and thursday is museum day. Am I making sense?

[Lady Edfeil]

[Lady Edfeil]

It's rare to realise in the moment how perfect and precious these moments are. Yesterday in the afternoon though, I could not help to notice what a perfect day I was having.
The sky was this magnificent deep blue without a cloud in sight. It was november. And I was sitting in a chair in the garden, in a thin cotton sweater looking at my son running around and enjoying himself to the hilt. He poked into leaves, crouched down thousands of times to pick up the most interesting things like acorns, leaves, little branches. He ran around like a little wild man and he enjoyed every single moment of it. Despite my urge to be at his side the whole time to keep him safe, I kept sitting in my chair, knitting and just keeping my eye on him to stop him from putting unsafe things in his mouth or falling into the pool.
I could hear the birds singing, I could see them playing a few feet away from me. I could hear acorns falling, I strongly believe tossed down by either birds or squirrels. The air was filled with the scent of fall and flowers at the same time. And I realised: this is one of those perfect moments. I wish I could have just halted time, but blogging about it is the next best thing.
Who would have thought that the weather would be beautiful enough mid november for just such a day.
When we came back in, Joseph was dirty, he had a red welt over his face from a branch and a thorn in his arm from the roses, but he hadn't even noticed, nor had I until I started cleaning him up. Most of all... he was exhilerated at all the freedom. My baby is becoming such a big boy.

[Lady Edfeil]

What a difference a day makes.

Yesterday was rather nice. A visit to the library with Joseph, some wonderful, wonderful, wonderful playtime in the room and then some running around with my little boy in the garden on a magnificent autumn afternoon. Sounds great, right?
Then I noticed... I had made a very visible mistake in my knitting. It was the first of those little trials that can plague a day. After that I had a headache, I was late picking up my husband from work, I started to get nausea and to cough, and felt generally unable to tend to my knitting as planned. I spend the evening in Windstorm and while I know I had fun, I'm not that sure about how good I was. *chuckles*
This morning finds me 'bleh'. I did manage to pull out the knitting up to the mistake, put everything back on the needles and get back on track, but that is about all I have accomplished today. I should be finishing a newsletter for our womansgroup, but my brain is in a fog. I fear that dreaded cold that my husband has finally managed to sink it's claws in me.

[Lady Edfeil]

Has a cold. Has no voice. Is feeling icky. Complains.

[Lady Edfeil]

I bought a wintercoat. A beautiful, regal looking, nice and warm and cozy wintercoat. I wish I could show you a picture but I can not find it online. It's a head to toe coat in faux fur and it makes me feel like an empress. *laughs* Not even a queen, mind you, an empress.
We found it on a seventy percent discount (Yay for discount) and it feels like such an indulgence. I think it's going to make me feel like I am wrapped in luxury every singly time I step out of the house with it.
Plus the fact that it is nice and warm is a great bonus since we are going to travel to places where it is much colder during the holidays. *W*

[Lady Edfeil]

A Joseph post:

Joseph has become very fond of reading during the last couple weeks. Mommy and Daddy can barely sit down before he comes up to them and hands them one of his books to read. Seriously, today I have read him 8 books already, and it isn't even noon. Lately, his favorites have been "Maisy Takes a Bath" and "Ten Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed." Of course, he also loves just about anything having to do with "Nijn" ((Miffy for the English people here) and will point excitedly every time he sees something with a picture of Nijntje on it.
One of the things he is so enthousiast about is the puzzle of Nijntje that Beren's mother gave him. He loves to take all the pieces out and even is getting some skill in getting them back in. One of the cutest moments a few days ago was when he took out 'nijntje the puzzlepiece', and took her to 'nijntje the book' to play. He kept calling "Nijn NIJN" as he put the puzzle piece against the book. Aparently both Nijntjes were playing together.

Three little monkeys is a big and heavy book, almost too heavy for Joseph to handle. That's why it is super cute when he manages to get it out of the big book basket, then half carries half drags it over to wherever you are sitting to hear more about the 'ten little monkeys jumping on the bed'. The nursery rhyme is one he heard first at story time and he is VERY fond of it.

Another one of the books Joseph loves is "Maisy takes a bath" In which the mouse Maisy takes a bath but is interrupted by her friend Tallulah who wants to come and play. In the end both end up playing together in the tub. We think that the main atraction for this book that Joseph will bring to be read three times back to back is the yellow ducky that Maisy puts in the bath and that is featured in three drawings. We can point to the drawing and ask: "And who is that, Joseph?" and he will enthouisastically reply: "Duh! Duh!"

During the so maniest (yes, I know, that is not really a word) reading of Maisy, mommy contemplated: We should find a book that really features a duck. And then of course I remembered! How could I forget? Alfred Jodocus Kwak!
I looked online for a picture of Alfred and stumbled over a little youtube movie. Actually two. The begin tune of Alfred and the ever famous; "Ik ben vandaag zo vrolijk.
I think Alfred might end up giving Nijntje a run for her money! Ah, it's good to see Joseph embrace his heritage. I defy anyone to keep a bad mad while listening and looking at this childhood jewel:

[Halethala]

Awwww cute! (He's already such a smart little thing, not surprisingly!)

[Lady Edfeil]

Speaking of smart, this is what happened the next day. Joseph got to see Alfred Jodocus Kwak again. But after one turn of the movie, mommie put him back down to go play. He immediately ran back to the computer and pointed at it. I said no. Figuring that I just didn't understand what he wanted, he ran back to his playtable, grabbed a duckie, ran back to the computer and pointed the duckie at it....

Oh, and I finally got my first baby kisses!!!!