This girl is going places

Vivian is up past her bedtime
Originally uploaded by Handy Crafts

Please pay no attention to the dust under my entertainment center. But I need to, because, all of a sudden, Vivian is VERY mobile. So dust under the entertainment center sometimes becomes dust in her mouth. She took a pretty long time to learn to crawl (she preferred rolling), but this week, it's been like a light switch was flipped in her head, and now she is crawling everywhere FAST.

Yesterday, she started standing up by pushing on Richard and I when we sit next to her on the floor. Standing. Standing!

Richard and I are now in panic mode over baby-proofing. I want to concentrate on going over the living room and her bedroom and starting first on the things that could result in death. Then we'll move on to those things that could just hurt. It's all about priorities.

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Hug Me!

I hate talking toys.

Especially when it's 11:45 p.m., Vivian's asleep, Richard's out of town, I'm washing dishes in a quiet house and, all of a sudden, I hear sneaky laughter, and then a cheerful voice calling from the living room, "Hug Me!"

Talking toys creep me out.

When you're alone and life is making you lonely, you can always go...

Downtown!

Last month my office moved from its long-time digs (40+ years) in the mid-Wilshire area into a shiny office tower in downtown Los Angeles. By moving to downtown, I lost my office (now in a corner cube, but at least I have a window!) and I lost the ability to visit Vivian at lunch (my old office was literally two blocks away from Vivian's daycare). Those things definitely sucked, but the move to downtown definitely has its upsides.

#1 Every convenience is available within a 2-block radius.
My gym is across the street (thus enabling me to work out on my lunch break). Also across the street is a shoe repair, dry cleaners, convenience store, and one of a billion Starbucks.

#2 A plethora of dining options are right here.
There are at least 15 different places to go for lunch within about 100 yards of my building. As opposed to our old building which had two options if you didn't want to get into your car and drive.

#3 The Fashion District is a quick DASH ride away (only 25 cents each way!)
I can visit Michael Levine's on my lunch break. This is frightening.

#4 The Central Library is right here.
I went to the library today on my lunch and picked up 4 knitting & crochet books: Scarf Style, KnitKnit, Loop-d-Loop Crochet and The Opinionated Knitter (I've been dying to try the Baby Surprise Sweater). Woo Hoo! I'm so proud of myself for taking advantage of this fabulous resource.

#5 A million more activities are all here and accessible.
Grand Central Market, lunchtime concerts at Pershing Square, the Flower District, the Jewelry District, the bead stores just north of the Fashion District (Bead District?), and probably a bunch more I haven't discovered.

"So go downtown, things'll be great when you're
Downtown - don't wait a minute for
Downtown - everything's waiting for you!"

Crazy for quilts

Ok, cheesy title, but I'm drawing a bit of a blank today. Remember that baby train I mentioned that was coming in to the station this month? Well, I'm keeping myself busy by quilting like a mad woman for these families. And last night, I finished my second patchwork quilt!

This one is for Baby Zanzibar, due this month to our friends Ryan & Sara. The pattern is from Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts, a book I highly recommend. The colors in the photo are a bit muted, making the quilt look like a biohazard sign, which I don't think it does in real life (the yellow is actually more green than orange).

Another view:
Thinking about it, if you've never changed a newborn's diaper before, you might think it WAS a biohazard...

I'm also working on a quilt Stephen & Lee's baby girl, also due this month. Richard picked out the fabrics, and I'm doing the Stacked Coins quilt, also from LMP&QG. I love how the different techniques of patchwork can make a quilt that looks so complicated, but is actually pretty simple.


More photos as the quilts progress!