It's A................

I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long. I've received a few emails that expressed concern over my absence, and I want to thank those of you who sent them. Everything is fine with me, and with the baby. I wanted to post the results of the ultrasound and some other stuff, but I really just haven't had time.

We were out of town for two weekends in a row, and every work day in between I ended up working in my office until 9 or 10 o'clock at night. I can't figure out where all the extra work is coming from... I complete things on my to-do list every day, and yet it seems to grow longer every day.

So, without further ado, I give you...

Our baby BOY!!!!!! Yes, yes, yes. I know I said I was sure this baby was a girl, but the ultrasound tech was quite confident that the baby does, in fact, have a penis. We are all really excited (especially Matt & Ty, who wouldn't know what to do with a baby girl if one fell out of the sky). I'm not disappointed, as some people have suggested. I never said I wanted a girl. I said I thought it was a girl. I absolutely ADORE being the mother of a boy... well, two boys, now.

I must pause in my post to pay homage to my Grandmother. G-ma, you were right & I was wrong, and I'm just really glad we never made a bet on the gender of this baby. Because I would have lost. As usual, you have shown your wisdom and intuition to be far superior to mine. You may commence with the gloating...

Now all we have to do is decide on a name. If you have any good names that you would care to share, I'm all ears. We have a short list, and so far Jonas is leading the pack, but we've still got a ways to go, so who knows what his name will end up being.

And now onto knitting news.

I have no real knitting news. I finished a washcloth... one of several that will end up being a Christmas gift set. I also cast on for, and have almost finished knitting, a bracelet purse, for a special little girl for Christmas. It was a very quick knit, and should be quick to finish after I felt the crap out of it. I love felting, don't you?

I do have some spinning pics, though. It turns out that I don't suck at it as badly as I thought. Oh, that's not to say that I'm good at it yet, but I'm just not as bad as it seemed. I hauled out some better fiber and things have been going much better. I haven't had a lot of time for spinning, since we've been out of town lately, and since I'm not spinning any Christmas gifts, but it is on my list of things to do this holiday weekend.

Not bad, huh? I'm pretty pleased... it looks pretty much like the pictures I seen on some of the other blogs, so I think I'm doing alright.

Oh, and now for some more exciting news. I got to spend the last two weekends walking up and down this road:

Isn't that so gorgeous? I took a bunch more photos, but this is one of my favorites. Since our St. Louis weather has been so warm and dry, the leaves hadn't fallen off the trees yet. It was beautiful. And one of the greatest things about this was that the nearest town (which consists entirely of two houses and a Quick-Mart) is ten whole miles away. We are not talking State Park here, people. This is serious "Drop-Off-Point, Missouri." "Middle Of Nowhere, Missouri." No rangers, no police, no cars, no cell service. (Okay, my iPhone got 3 bars every now & then...). No nothing.

Except for this:

I BAGGED MY FIRST DEER!!!!!!!!! I HAVE BEEN HUNTING FOR SIX YEARS AND FINALLY GOT MY FIRST DEER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He's a button buck. Yes, he's a little small, but food has been scarce this year. We had a serious frost in the late spring that killed all the little acorn buds on the trees. That was followed by a very dry summer that left us over 4 inches short in rainfall. The deer haven't had easy access to food or water, and as a result they're all a little scrawny.

My dad got a deer that same day, and I'm sorry to say that Matt did not. He had two chances, but didn't get a shot off the first time, and took a bad shot but missed the second. Poor guy. Since only the three of us went hunting, Matt was the only one who didn't get one.

Out of deference to the faint of heart, I have omitted the more explicit photos of the as-close-to-perfect-as-it-gets shot and of Matt field dressing my deer. (Normally I would have to do that part, but my doctor has advised me against that type of activity while pregnant. COnvenient for me, huh?)

I took it to the processor and will probably end up with a couple of small tenderloins and some summer sausage. Matt will go pick it up on Friday (while I clean house in preparation for Ty's birthday party on Saturday). Mmmm.... I can't wait.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and a great weekend!