Quickstep

Without a word of a lie, I can swear to you that all week long I have known that this weekend is Easter, and I have known all week long,  that Easter is proceeded by Good Friday. I mean, I have a calendar.   Somehow though, this knowledge didn’t really translate into the understanding that this week really only has four days in it to accomplish anything – rather than five, and it was Sam who brought it home for me this morning.  Joe’s away, and so I have the car, and Sam’s been bucking for a drive to school.  She usually takes the subway, but a drive lets her sleep in – and so she’s always keen to hook a ride. School is on the way to work for Joe, and so he usually dumps her on the way a few times in a week.  Monday she started working on me, and me, I have a busy week, so I put her off with a promise that I would drive her one day this week.  One day for sure.  The days have passed in a blur, me stuck at my desk, on the phone… working on something that needs to be done this week.  This morning – Sam was particularly slow moving, and when I suggested that she put a little hustle on it, she reminded me that I’d said I would drive her.

"One day this week!" I exclaimed, sort of distractedly, as I rifled papers on my desk, figuring out what I would do today, and what tomorrow. "Not today Sam."
Sam looked at me like there was something totally wrong with me, and then, as delicately as possible, pointed out that this was the last day of school this week. That tomorrow is a Statutory holiday. Nothing is open, not school… nothing.  Canada is, she reminded me, closed.
First my head exploded, then I got my car keys, because a promise is a promise, and then, then I drove her there while working through the trauma of a lost day, making a desperate list in my head.  

Saturday (where am I going to buy baskets?) was the day I was planning on having (oh, man. I need to do the Easter grocery shop) this little sweater (Wait! This means I have to go to the Post Office today) done.  I’ve got the body done, (body – dammit, I need to get the body of that essay written) and now it’s on to (hold on, I can’t go to the bank tomorrow now) wee arms. Saturday (how much of this can I do Saturday?)  is starting to look like a silly goal, with all I have to do today (crap, I forgot to buy eggs)  I suppose I shouldn’t give up yet (where the hell is that statement)  a baby sweater arm is really less work than the leg of a sock (hot cross buns. I need hot cross buns)  and after all, tomorrow (I need to buy that birthday present before tomorrow too) everything is closed. 

Maybe I can knit.
(Oh no.  I forgot about buttons.)

97 thoughts on “Quickstep

  1. First?! This sounds about like my week, only I have been in flat DENIAL about the lack of additional days between now and Easter. Good luck, and have a lovely weekend. 🙂

  2. You need to live in the grand old USA. Everything is open tomorrow!
    Although, really, I like your country’s way better!

  3. Can I get extra credit if I scream FOR you? I’m under the impression that one phone call should get it done. Not ten.
    Since I will be on the road tomorrow, I hope some part of California is closed, and not the roads.
    Happy Easter.

  4. Beautiful sweater!
    My ADHD husband and sons will love this post – thanks! (but they probably won’t get the whole thing read!)

  5. Just because you think you forgot something doesn’t mean anyone else will notice. It’s a vest. It’s a “Fridge surprise”. It’s a jury-rigged dinner roll with icing. It doesn’t have buttonholes so it doesn’t need buttons. Whatever. Just enjoy the holiday with those near and dear. That’s the most important thing.

  6. Oh my. You mean my similar trains of thought (collisions of thought … call them what you will) are not something unique to me?
    Best of luck. Beautiful sweater.

  7. Crap! I keep forgetting about the whole Easter basket goodies / egg buying and dyeing thing! Apparently I have more to do that I thought I did. I was looking forward to drinking tea and knitting all day tomorrow. . .

  8. Sorry but, if something doesn’t get done will the world explode?
    delegate – delegate – delegate
    Pretty sweater

  9. Ellen at 3:41: Maybe in your part of the U.S. everything is open on Good Friday. Here in Indiana, many things, including banks, are closed. And yes, I do like it that way.
    I know non-Christians don’t do this, but if you’d been doing without something that you have trouble giving up since the middle of February, you would totally remember, every minute, that this is the last week before Easter. Trust me.

  10. You’re a Godless Heathen (and I mean that in the most Christian way), so you’re forgiven for having forgotten.

  11. “trauma of a lost day”…. sums it up precisely…plan B is always lurking…

  12. You can do it, Steph! Take a deep breath, make a list, organize your stops so that they are as efficient as possible, and delegate where possible. You can do it.

  13. I think the panic about Easter is the best reason I have for not celebrating it.
    Of course, if I had children, I think I’d start celebrating it. It’s amazing how much they change things.

  14. Enjoy time with those you love and who love you long after All the “have to do s” have been deleted. Oh yeh really beautiful sweator — nicer family! : )

  15. One year, I had a store clerk remind me that the same thing happens each Easter, and I shouldn’t be shocked about the lineups on the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. And really, I could have done Easter shopping for many, many days before Easter.
    I found Shoppers Drug Mart and am happy. Open, even on Good Friday, and until midnight.
    Works for me!

  16. Sorry, Stephanie, but I think I’m gonna have to give up reading your blog. Oh, it’s not because I don’t enjoy it! It’s just that I have high blood pressure and my doctor says I must avoid all stress. You understand, right? Your blog is all stress.

  17. Somehow I just know that you will come through this triumphantly. You’ll find eggs somewhere (have you tried dyeing them with onion skins?) and the sweater (which is beautiful, and the grey is perfect) will get done. You must have some buttons in your button stash. Oh. I guess you need some button bands to put the buttons on. You can do it. I couldn’t, but you can.

  18. You Canadians– you’re just not mercenary enough 😉 We here south of the border don’t close for nothing or nobody. By golly, someone, somewhere, doesn’t celebrate that holiday and might want to come in and spend a dollar, so we’ll be open even if all of our employees would like a chance for an actual holiday. Ok, I’ll turn off the sarcasm and wish you luck getting everything done in less time than you imagined.

  19. What Missy said. If you’re not the go-to-services Easter worshipper, you have Friday to knit. And bank machines operate 224/7, as does online banking. Buttons…that’s another story, but a knitter of kiddies’ sweaters as long-term as you are? Surely you have a stash of buttons…?
    So Happy Easter! Find some chocolate, some wine, some knitting, and…enjoy!

  20. Quebec is not closed on Friday (as far as I know), Quebec is closed on Monday…so in a pinch, you know, you could go to Quebec for your needs. 🙂

  21. I love the sweater. The grey is beautiful and soft. You can come look at my button stash tomorrow afternoon if you really need some. Otherwise, use some that will do and get the killer cute ones later.

  22. The US is open tomorrow in case you need anything. You will have to cross an international border, though.

  23. This is what Easter chocolate is for: energy! On Sunday I get to cook for my celiac/lactose intolerant/vegan guests. But I still love them, and knitting, and you, Steph. Happy Easter.

  24. It’s not really a lost day, more like a trade off. You might have to chivvy around all the ‘out’ jobs today but if you’re not of a church-going persuasion and everything is closed then that sounds to me like a government mandated knitting day and what could be better than that!

  25. zzzzz…..I have all the time in the world, dear Harlot. Easter isn’t until May 4, after all, and not only will everything be open, I will also be purchasing my baskets/candy for 75% off.
    (However, between Palm Sunday and Easter we have no less than SIXTEEN church services. By the time it’s all over, we’re ready for a vacation.)

  26. Since we are broke (again) and since I have three young adult males who eat like young wolves living in the house, I am going to have to conjure up Easter dinner out of nothing at all. We debated turkey vs ham, and finally decided on two large chickens because none of us can face turkey again so soon after Christmas. Then Fate threw us the curve ball and here we are, thinking that meatloaf looks pretty darn good, actually. I don’t have to go anywhere, I don’t have to prepare anything, I don’t have to buy eggs – because I can’t afford the gasoline to get to town to do any of it. So we will have to be joyful over meatloaf, and as one who has lived on bread and coffee for almost two years in the recent past, that will be enough. Since I bake, and since I do have a few ingredients stashed in the pantry, I may rise to Hot Cross Buns, though I will likely be the only one eating them.

  27. I’m with you, Presbytera. Another reason to be out of step with the world. Steph, just do what you can and focus on enjoying the long weekend. Meatloaf (or the vegetarian equivalent) can be special when enjoyed with love. Sometimes we get so stuck on the details we miss the point of the special day.

  28. Right. There. With. You.
    How can Easter possibly have snuck up on me like this. We’ve even been talking about it…

  29. heehee…a friend asked me on Tuesday what I was doing for Easter and I just looked at her…”what?” Hhmmmm…since my Italian Catholic DH passed, I don’t have to celebrate the biggest holiday next to Christmas (with all his relatives in Bakersfield!) except by sleeping late and knitting all day watching movies with the cats. Woo Hoo!! Somehow Steph, I know you will pull it together – you always do. Have a lovely day!

  30. Gorgeous sweater. Just curious: you have said you don’t believe in jesus, yet you celebrate easter, which is all about him, including hot cross buns. Why are you so worked up about it? I’ m not trying to be nasty, I am just sincerely wondering. (neither do I, that’s why I don’t celebrate it).

  31. In a way you are lucky. In Denmark easter started today and all the shops are closed today and tomorrow and again sunday and monday! That means it was like all hell broke loose, when I went shopping yesterday. When will I ever learn to plan ahaid???

  32. Beautiful sweater! That’s an old pattern?
    I totally understand how weeks go by so fast. Well, no, I don’t actually understand WHY they go by so fast, only that they do.
    Loved yesterday’s post and the previous one too. I got lost in reading all the responses. By the end, I wasn’t sure what I actually wanted or expected anymore from either a pattern or a recipe.

  33. Love the sweater (your design or a pattern somewhere?) and totally understand the days running away. When you figure out how to catch them, let us all know. Remember, like Christmas, Easter is also partly about family togetherness.

  34. This completely feels like how I lived my week this week too!
    I feel your pain, and if I could share the eggs I’d bought for my family with you, I would *nods*
    *hugs you*
    *makes you more coffee*

  35. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry, as the same type of dialogue runs through my head. I had enough time! Everything was going to get done, for a change!
    What?
    Was I crazy?
    Has ANYthing ever gotten all done, ever?

  36. Oh, so there with you.
    I have this lovely shawl on my needles, spring pink with tiny pale green beads…. I was thinking I”d wear it for Easter. Until I looked at how many rows are left on the chart, and timed how long a row took, and realised there are about 24 hours of work left to do on this, plus blocking, and there are other things that need to happen like food and sleep, and …..
    I will be wearing something else for Easter.

  37. Step,
    Take a deep breath and maybe a glass of wine. It always works out. I will clean the laundry off the couch and run the vac tomorrow and clean the table off Sat and have guests for dinner Sunday. In between, church tonight- Maundy Thurs, tomorrow-Good Friday, Sat night- Easter vigil, and Sunday AM -Easter Morning. I sing in the church choir, but I would be there anyway as this is my favorite week of the church year.
    The sweater is so precious.
    Judy

  38. Stephanie, that last paragraph is one of the most stunning you have ever written, in a literary-style-form-structure kind of way. I love it! The content is also interesting.

  39. Whoa, beautiful sweater. I have not picked up needles since the end of January as I have begun school again. I am thrilled and grateful to be going, even though I am working very hard. I do really miss knitting though.

  40. I’m sorry your head exploded. Maybe you can just focus on how beautiful that little gray sweater is and ignore the rest of what needs doing (except the eggs and baskets, of course).
    I’m sure your Easter will be lovely, as it always is, and that on Monday you’ll show us a slew of gorgeous photos that emphasize how much you can accomplish with pure stubbornness and a cooperative family. Love you to you all!

  41. sorry about the stress of a lost day…
    That sweater is just GORGEOUS. I’ll have to look up that pattern.
    Wishing you the best with your struggles,
    minm

  42. Same thing happened to me today too. Good luck 🙂 Looking forward to seeing you next weekend in Springfield for the Knitting Goddesses workshop!

  43. Totally off-topic, but I just have to laugh – all my right-wing friends here in the US are always talking about how godless and awful Canada is (legal abortion! socialized medicine!), yet you designate Good Friday as a statutory holiday. It isn’t one in the US.

  44. Life is definitely more interesting when you still have a kid at home. (We do too and I’m not looking forward to when she gets her own apartment.)

  45. Awwwww. . .a little gray gansey! How cute! Are you practicing so you can finish the big one?
    And why sweat Easter? Yes, having stuff closed on Good Friday is inconvenient, and it is best to avoid supermarkets and stores with Easter baskets on Saturday. But you’ve now got all day Friday to knit and write and delegate stuff to the darling daughters! (Doesn’t Sam like to bake? Has she ever tried making hot cross buns?) Or do what I like to do: Order in an extra-large pizza (or two) the night before, and have the leftovers as your holiday meal!
    (Me, religious? Well, no, why do you ask?)

  46. I have to go with Eva at 6:38 on this one: I’m confused. (I also mean this in a completely respectful way.) Why do you celebrate Easter?

  47. In South Africa everything is closed today. Today and New Years Day are always celebrated by closing all shops.
    Easter to me is about the chocolate. Nothing more, nothing less. Sorry, religious people. That’s why I celebrate Easter. If it was about cabbage, I wouldn’t celebrate it. Coz I hate cabbage.

  48. Springfield? You’re going to be in Springfield? When the Easter rush is over, could you maybe update the list of your speaking engagements on your blog so your fans can make plans (you know, ahead of time) to attend? Thanks.

  49. I hate when that happens to me and it happens a lot more than I’d like to admit. I wish I knew the Doctor personally so I could just jump into the Tardis and get everything done with lots of time left to spare. Your sweater is lovely.

  50. I love how your train of thoughts sounds like mine, hopping from one thing to another sometimes related sometimes not.
    And I love that Dyepotgirl suggested jumping in the Tardis, that is the perfect solution. As an added bonus you could meet your favorite Doctor.

  51. BAHAHAH! The only part you forgot is where you get back home and have no recollection of the things you needed to do.
    Be brave – this too shall pass.

  52. For all of the surprise that non-religious people might also be celebrating, Easter (Eoestre) predates Christianity by a very long time…including the Eoestre bunny…..:-) It celebrates the diviinity of the radiant dawn, the upspringing light, a spectacle that brings joy.

  53. Bakeries make acceptable hot cross buns. And if you intended to peel those colored eggs, well they needed to have been laid at least a week ago. This time of year when white eggs are selling out as soon as they’re shelved, it’s too late unless you all really like lots of egg salad.
    BUT, my personal recommendation for this sort of last minute button frenzy is to invest in different sizes of tiny plastic rings and make matching wool buttons (can’t for the life of me remember the proper name for them – somewhere in England, maybe begins with a “D”? maybe not) With all the sock yarn you use you’d have thousands of options for matching solids or lovely contrasting colors. If needed. At the last minute.

  54. The is the most wonderful wee sweater ever. Do you think a baby will be allowed to spit up on it?
    Ah yes, almost lost yesterday. Thanks for keeping things inperspective.

  55. LOL! Most of the above comments were also written about me. Not only is it Easter weekend but my husband, this morning, decided to call all our guests and change Easter dinner to Saturday instead of Sunday (a litle last minute!) and make Sunday a day of rest (sort of), but I’m getting ready to go to the U.S.in a week or so. Hours on the internet for flights and now a car rental, gift shopping, haven’t even gone to the attic foa suitcase. Cold weater clothes? Spring clothes? Any clothes at all after I’ve packed (and weighed the gifts!)? Whatever happened to the good old days of two BIG suitcases? Not to mention all the “life goes on” stuff that’s got to be packed into this week!
    I’d rather be knitting!
    Happy Easter Stephanie!

  56. Your post gave me a good laugh this morning. I hope all works out and everything that you want to have done is done. Happy Easter!

  57. I love the fact that you kept your word to Sam in spite of the sense that a huge snowball is about to roll over you. My mom is deceased now, but I’m not sure what she would’ve done in this situation. Happy Easter!

  58. You’ll get it done. I always run around like a chicken without a head and still manage to finish. P.S., will that pattern be available? I love it!

  59. Easter should not be allowed to happen in March. It’s too sudden for mothers and church planners. It’s too early for little people to be out in snow and wet to find soggy eggs or candies. I vote we give up the old moon/weeks way and just set a date.

  60. Store are open in Alberta on Good Friday. Not banks or the post office but grocery stores and malls. Reduced hours but still open.

  61. I had someone ask me yesterday if there were classes today (“Good” Friday). I work in a state university in the U.S. It was all I could do not to snap back, “The Jewish people didn’t get classes off on Passover, last time I looked.” It’s really time to stop making religious holidays into federal/state /bank holidays. It’s archaic, annoying, and downright discriminatory. But that’s my little soapbox.

  62. Many thanks, Steph! As I was reading your stream of consciousness, and thinking to myself “I’ll leave to get Sam from school right after I finish reading this blog post”, you mentioned eggs. I’d completely forgotten the eggs boiling away on the stove. You saved me from leaving the house and letting the water boil away, all the way from Toronto! You have amazing superpowers!

  63. Enjoy Easter. This is my first year in a country that doesn’t celebrate and the change is getting me down. Before this I taught in a parochial school so you can imagine the Holy Week difference. I did get my hubby a chocolate bunny but it just isn’t the same.
    Oh yeah, we end every work week on Thursday and the fact that hubby is gone to work on Sunday doesn’t help me still feel like Friday should be a work day. Every week I feel this way!

  64. Oh wow, such an incredible, beautiful sweater! So much detail in such a wee sweater, what size are those needles!?

  65. Thanks for all your wonderful posts and inspiration – hope your Good Friday and Easter are peaceful.
    Does that baby sweater come in adult sizes?
    Heather

  66. I laughed in sympathy. I do this all the time, but having reached a certain age, the list evaporates the minute I get home or hit the stores. Something big always gets forgotten. I used to be an ace at this kind of stuff when my son was young, and could multi-task and run concurrent lists in my head (child/work/house) like a pro. My son grew up and my abilities are not the same. Wha’ happened?! Now, fewer and more focused activities cause more angst than earlier times when there were tons of varied activities. Just getting the car inspected becomes a major event. Is it age? Being out of practice? Allowing one list (work) to dominate? Exhaustion? Did something snap and my subconscious is screaming enough is enough and let’s just knit?
    Being a few steps ahead of you in terms of phases of a woman’s life, I have been waiting to see if you blog this same condition as your girls get older and move out. Looking forward to your usual thoughtful/funny reactions to moving into new phases. In the meantime, hope your list gets accomplished and you have a lovely Easter!

  67. LauraSue, that’s a lot of adrenaline for this friendly comment board. Breathe. Would it make you feel better to know that the only religious federal government and bank holiday in the US is Christmas Day? If your school has more, it’s their choice. Maybe because they don’t want to have classes if 20-40% of the students won’t come. Maybe because teachers too like a day off to extend spring holiday week.
    Some financial exchanges close for Good Friday. Most of them might as well close for High Holidays.
    The nice thing is, a day off is a day off for everyone.

  68. Stat holidays seem to be more common in Canada than the U.S. But, a lot of what we see in Canada is a result of unions negotiating other days as designated days off. For example, November 11, Remembrance Day, is defined by Alberta Education as an instructional day. However, the collective agreement for custodial staff says it’s a designated day. Since it’s illegal to operate a school without custodians, it’s a day off. In other words, LauraSue, it isn’t always religious. As I recall, my law school profs who were Jewish simply cancelled classed for High Holidays.

  69. Just finished catching up on a month’s worth of your blog. Thoroughly enjoyed your attempts to make space in your fiber cupboard. I was hoping for some insight coz I, too, am trying to make space in my closets of yarn, fiber, fabric. In Jan, 2012, I resolved to spin like mad to reduce my fiber stash. I even bought an electric spinner to help out. I used it. A lot. But there’s still a whole whack of fiber left. And I DIDN”T BUY ANY MORE last year. I’ll keep working on the stash in 2013 but have realized something fairly important. Spinning (reducing) the fiber stash just means increasing the yarn stash. And since I’ve run out of room in my yarn storage, I have to resort to tucking yarn back into the fiber storage space. Which would be okay, I guess, except for the fact that the fiber is stored in my extra bathroom and we could sorta use that space for other things, if you know what I mean.

  70. Good Friday used to be a State holiday in Maryland. When I was in college, back before there were ATM machines, every year at least one friend or acquaintance from out of state would get stuck without money for the weekend when they showed up at the bank hoping to cash a check, which was the only way to get money out of your bank, and find it locked up tight and the lights off. I’m afraid I found this unfailingly amusing, because I’m just wicked like that.

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