She Works Hard for the Money

Uh uh, uh uh. So hard for it, honey, uh uh, uh uh. She works hard for the money so you better treat her right.

There. Now it's in your head. Pass it on.

I worked hard this weekend, people!

First, I came up with another baby bib. See, the soft, thin cotton one that I made first is nice. Sweet, even. But too nice to use to feed the baby? Possibly.

I went back to the drawing board with dishcloth cotton in hand. Because I remember how messy my girls got while eating. Like feeding time at the zoo, I tell ya. And what bibs did I like the best during those times? To be honest, I got kind of fond of the Pampers disposable ones. They were great for eating out because you could just rip it off and leave it for the busboy to take care of. A cloth bib has to be carried home in all it's food-covered glory.

But at home, my favorite bibs were big, and they didn't have that rubbery coating on the back that got skanky in the dryer after multiple washings. Combine with that my love for knit dishcloths and their ability to clean up the messiest messes, go into the washer and dryer with nary a backwards glance and come out smelling like a rose...well, you see where this is going, don't you?

I took the World's Simplest Dishcloth Pattern and tweaked it into a bib. The pattern is on the previous post as well as in the sidebar over to the left there, as is the original Grandmother's Favorite Dishcloth pattern. And Bezzie informs me that in her house it's also the Favorite Blanket pattern, which I could totally see.

So I made three of the GFB's on Saturday. I meant to get to those last two mittens for the order I took on etsy, but I wasn't in a mitteny mood. I watched the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie and made bibs instead.

But Sunday dawned fresh. We went to 10:30 mass which is something we don't do much anymore. I usually have to cantor either the 4:30 or the 8:00, and even when I don't, those two masses are great because they leave your whole day free. If you go Saturday night, you're out in plenty of time for dinner out if you like. (It's a tough crowd to sing in front of, though. Those people want to be entertained. Not much singing along at the vigil mass. They are, however, the most complementary, so there you go. It's a fair trade.) And if you go to the 8, you're out by 9:30--the rest of the day fairly yawns before you!

But 10:30? Well, it's usually packed. Lots of kids at that one. Which is good if you have a noisy type kid and you want to blend in. Not so good if you hate kids. Good music at the 10:30 because most of the choir goes to that one. You're lucky there's a cantor at the others, and maybe a couple of people will show up to sing "backup". But sometimes that's good.

Anyway, the reason we went to the 10:30 was that it was a special mass for Fr. Gallant. He celebrated the 60th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood this week. He said the mass with Fr. Albert taking "second chair" as it were. I haven't heard Fr. Gallant say mass since I was in high school, since that's when he retired from active priesting. It sure brought back memories. He's from Quebec, and has a French-Canadian accent. It's lilting and singsong-y.

Quick reminisce: I remember when I was in college and heard a non-French priest say mass. Do you know that I was 18 years old before I realized that the priest was asking God to "Look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church," and not the "fate of your Church"? I mean, they both kind of work, when you think about it.

There was a lovely lunch after the two-hour mass extravaganza. (It was a pageant, to be sure. Incense, the Knights of Columbus in full regalia, at least 10 altar servers...quite a show! People were standing in the back because the pews were full, and I think our little church seats about 600 people. Sister said she wondered during communion where all the people were coming from. She wanted to know if there was a bus parked out front.)

I digress. I helped clean up after the luncheon. (I hate the word "luncheon." It puts on airs.) My three containers of leftovers and I got a ride home from Fr. Albert, and let me tell you, my dogs were barking. Of course my recliner is broken so I couldn't put my feet up. Worse luck, that.

But I had a cold drink and composed myself. And I settled in to make a mitten. Larry T. took the kids off for a trip to the store and I made some "healthy cookies", recipe courtesy of The Domestic Overlord. They're good. They would have been better had Sister not sent down homemade peanut butter cookies just as mine were coming out of the oven. How can healthy compete with that? I ask you!

So I finished up one mitten, had some supper, and launched into the last one. And it took me until 9:00, but I have all twelve mittens done! I really want to wash and block them today, but it's rainy and I fear they won't dry quickly enough. But I really want to finish them so they can ship. (And I can get paid! And I can show them off!)

Now I can turn my attention to finishing the Chinese baby sweater. I need to block the pieces, then seam them, knit the neckband and side ties, and then block it again. Probably my least favorite parts of sweater making, really. It's why I procrastinate.

Today, I'm getting a haircut. That should kill some time.