Elijah's sweater

So after i knit Grace's sweater I had to make one for Elijah. So here it is. I used one of his monster drawing as a template for the picture I stitched on the front. I think he really likes it. It is a bit of a heavy sweater. It may be good for the spring, when that's all you need to wear outside.

I also made him a hat. I got the idea for the rim off Etsy . I made a pink one for Grace but she seems to have misplaced it already. Very sad. I'm sure I'll find it somewhere and then I'll post a picture of it. I think it made it a bit deep.
My next project is a sweater for Ian. In Regina I bought some beautiful pima cotton, Merino wool mixed yarn. I'm planning on using a Debbie Bliss pattern.
All this knitting has really dug into my reading time. Not really getting any done. Its hard to knit and read. So I'm still not done "Shake hands with the Devil." Its pretty depressing, and very long. I try to read a few pages while I'm nursing. Ian doesn't take too long though so I only get a couple pages read at a time.
We have been watching a whole lot of Olympics. The TV is on alot. Its a bit addictive. I'm getting tired of hearing CTV say, we have a great chance on getting a medal and then we get 4th or 5th. I wish they would stop jinxing us like that.

The kids are all having fun crafting this morning. Ian is watching his siblings with awe and amazement. It makes a big difference now that he can sit all by himself. He'll sit long periods of time just playing with his toys or watching the older two.

The Jungle Book

I was putting some books away today. I picked up "The Jungle Book" and flipped through it. The book opened to the story " Toomai of the Elephants". This is the poem the story begins with.

I will remember what I was. I am sick of ropes and chains.
I will remember my old strength and all my forest affairs.
I will not sell my back to man for a bundle of sugar-cane,
I will go out to my own kind, and the wood-folk in their lairs.

I will go out until the day, until the morning break,
Out to the winds' untainted kiss, the waters' clean caress:
I will forget my ankle-ring and snap my picket-stake.
I will revisit my lost loves, and playmates masterless!

I was moved by this short poem. I was a nice moment in my day, amid all the folding, cooking, disciplining, bum wiping, nursing and so on.

Shake Hands With the Devil

I am currently reading L.Gen. Romeo Dallaire's account of the genocide in Rawanda. I had read a book earlier this year which was a personal account of the genocide. I of course was moved by the story and became interested in learning more about what could have caused and allowed such a massacre to occur.
Dallaire's account is lengthy. There are times that I skim pages as he details all the politics and work that went into even getting a small force of Peacekeepers into Rawanda. I have to admit I love a story, so when the book become more detailed history I getting a little bored. The endless names and ranks are confusing. Not to say that this is unneeded. I'm sure there are lots of people who understand and I feel as though this book is Dallaire's account to the nation and the world for his actions and the events that unfolded.
Having a family member in the Armed Forces, I am very interested in the way his mind works as a soldier, the affects his work had on his family, his honesty about his failings to the job and his family, and the affects the genocide had on his mental health. He is very candied about his pride and ignorance going into the mission. It was his first mission overseas and he was still quite young.
In the introduction he describes a scene in which he and his patrol meet a lone boy standing in the road. The stop the truck look for his parents in the forest surrounding them and can not locate anyone who is caring for this child. (This is well into the genocide.) The boy runs into a house near by and they follow him. Inside the boy sits down beside his dead mother. The rest of his family is lies dead there too. Dallaire takes the child out of the house and he clings to him. I quote, " I made up my mind: this boy would be the fourth child in the Dallaire family. I couldn't save Rwanda, but I could save this child." I think this situation is a good example of his compassion and utter need to do something about all the destruction and death he sees around him. Who would not want to take this child to safety and give them a home? His humanity compels him to save this child. O fcourse the story ends with the child running off into the forest never to be seen again.
I"m not quite done the book yet. I'm sure once I'm into the account of the genocide I'll have more to write about.
blessings