Vacation

Tomorrow we leave on a 6 day cruise out of Fort Lauderdale. It is a very much needed break in my very busy life. I can't wait to sit in the sun with a good book. I can't wait to eat yummy food and not have to clean up the kitchen. I can't wait to fall asleep and not worry about my kids during the middle of the night. I also can't wait to spend time with my family away from the stresses of everyday life. Wishing you all a wonderful week, even if you are not on vacation I hope your week is full of peace.

Knitting Helps

Sometimes knitting really helps. It helps in all areas of your life, or better yet helps you to tolerate life. I have been in a bit of a knitting funk lately. So much on my mind and so little time to sort everything out. I have been outside in my garden when time and weather permits. I have also had a bit more paper work than usual for work, so that again sucks up knitting time. I haven't been all that excited about my projects, so again the funk continues. I finally finished my Mother-in-Law's scarf, good thing she arrives today. I have thought and thought about new projects, but haven't felt the new project thrill I usually get.

I have been overly stressed lately. Work, and family, are always on my mind. I am a worrier. I worry that my patients are sick or not getting enough from the therapy I provide for them. I worry about my children, are they progressing like they should be? Why aren't their grades better? Why does my youngest get ill so frequently? Why can't my oldest stop eating sugar even though he is a severe hypoglycemic? Will they grow up to be good, respectable young men? I worry about my parents, they live close by but I don't have enough time to see tham as often as I should. They are getting older and having some difficulties. I worry about my husband, he is stressed with this economy and trying to maintain a living for all his employees.

Now I have a brand new, very urgent worry. My next door neighbor has recently been diagnosed with pre-leukemia. This new cancer is the result of treatment she received 15 years ago for Hodgkin's Disease. She is my age, 45. She is the Mother of two like me. She has been blindsided by this, as has her family. We have been talking a lot these last few days. I try to give her space with her thoughts and with her family. I also want her to know I am here for her. How much space is too much? I hope I know when she needs to talk and I hope I am given the gift to know what to say. My neighbor and I have fought the battle of cancer before. I think that is why she can talk to me. I can't believe anyone has to fight it twice, it just doesn't seem fair. But life really isn't fair.

So besides talking to her and sending her my healing prayers, I have decided to knit for her. I guess you can call it a prayer shawl. I like that idea. I can wrap her in my love and healing thoughts every time I work on this project for her. I like to think of her as wrapped in white healing light. I believe this cream silk will help me with that visualization.

I purchased this beautiful yarn when in Rhinebeck, with my sister. I have been waiting to find the perfect project. Funny, sometimes the perfect project finds you. I will make my standard drop stitch shawl. It is an easy pattern, but really beautiful. This way I can concentrate on the love I put into it, not the pattern. I will envision my lovely neighbor wrapped in this healing shawl, with all my prayers for her healthy future, knit into every stitch. It is the best I can do for now. I hope it helps her as well as me. Keep her in your prayers, she needs as many as she can get.

Spring... Are you really here?

This is what my back yard looked like most of the winter. Everything I had died in the great freeze of 2010. I just couldn't stand it any longer so I spent my weekend pulling dead plants and replanting. It is a little risky as it is still chilly here but I had to try. Hope you enjoy a little spring.

Snapdragons, don't you love them?

A beautiful Jasmine bush.


Even my potted plants needed to be replaced. I am still planting, and planting. Haven't even looked at the death and destruction in my front yard yet. I will save that for next weekend.
Usually my back yard is a haven for deer munchies. Once again I am crossing my fingers that the deer don't like my plants. I planted a lot of Society Garlic in hopes the smell will drive them away.

Look who looks spectacular in the spring sunlight, Max. He was a lot of help this weekend. Lots of smelling while Mom was planting.

Random Thoughts

A big question, how many knitting bags do you own? I probably have several hundred thousand and I like each one. In the last year I have gravitated towards these wonderful bags sold at Barnes & Noble Bookstore. Several times a year they sell these bags with a two item purchase. Well for me that is an easy sell as I love to read and Barnes & Nobles has a great selection of knitting books. (More about that obsession in another post) The bag above was purchased around Halloween last year. And yes that is the brown sweater I should be working on peeking out of it. The bag above is new. I just got it a couple of days ago. I love the fact that these bags are very light weight. They are made of a durable plastic that really lasts a long time. They open up so they stand up. Many bags have cloth bottoms so your work get smashed in them. They are plastic so I can take them to swim practice where there is always a chance of water being on the pool deck. They are big enough to put pattern books and knitting magazines in, but not so big that they are cumbersome. I know a lot of people like really fancy knitting bags with tons of pockets, and doo-dads. These are simple and cheap. I have several projects usually going at once so I need many bags. In every bag I have a small case with darning needles, scissors, crochet hooks, stitch markers, etc. So my need for pockets is slim. Take a look next time you are in the book store, you may have just found your perfect bag!

Above is my latest ruffle scarf. I am not quite half way done, but am still having fun with this pattern. The colors are washed out in this photo, the gray, blue and black are much more defined and vibrant then pictured. Hope my Mother-in-Law likes it when I get it done.

I have a bit of an obsession with all things kniterly. I am obsessed with yarn, books and magazines about knitting, knitting blogs and of course animals that produce yarn. Sheep are so amazing. The sheep above is a child's toy I purchased for myself. If you pet the back of it's neck it baas and bends its head forward. I believe it is a Fur Real toy, I purchase mine at Target.

While at Target today I saw this cutie. A stuffed sheep that is the sweetest. It comes in a much bigger version, but I thought my husband would think I had lost my mind if I came home with that one. This baby is very fluffy and just begs for a hug. Look in the Easter section of the store, for $4.99 you can't go wrong.

Catching Up

First, a big congratulations to all those incredible knitters that made it through the knitting Olympics. I have seen some amazing sweaters completed in just 17 days. I am in awe of all of you. Next time I will try to think a little more clearly before I make the decision to commit myself to the Knitting Olympics. I am not sure what I was thinking taking on a big project while 8 of the 17 days I was going to be really busy with swim meets. So what I was really trying to accomplish was a big sweater/coat in 9 days. 9 days in which I work, take care of my family and have to transport children to different activities and appointments. Remind me that my life is really, really busy next time I take on a crazy project with a time limit.

While I was in Orlando watching my son swim against some of the best of the best 15 and 16 year old young men in the State of Florida I did start another ruffle scarf. I will post pictures another day, but for now just imagine a beautiful gray, black and blue smooth yarn. This one is for my Mother-in Law, maybe for Christmas but probably just because. The ruffle scarf is a fun, engaging, very portable project. It gets a lot of looks and comments from others as it is very beautiful and quite different.

By the way my oldest son was quite amazing this weekend. Not an easy task to swim when it is very cold outside and almost as cold inside. The air quality was horrible and the pool deck area is just gross. He has mild asthma so the conditions were not in his favor but he still made it into finals in all six of his events. He ended up doing great! Good job honey.