10 Things To Be Thankful For

Teresa Kasner of http://teresakasner.blogspot.com/, was very, very kind in "Tagging" me.


She apparently does not mind me blog stalking her, which I really appreciate. As we are in Thanksgiving week, I have decided to put a bit of a spin on being tagged. I am going to write 10 things about which I am extremely thankful for. I challenge you all to do the same.

1. Yarn, yarn, and more yarn. I love the way it looks, feels and smells. I love to knit, weave and now to crochet. I can calm down just walking into a yarn store. I love all the different types of yarn, and all the amazing colors. I have been knitting since I was 22. Now that I am pretty old, that is a very long time. I was taught to knit by three lovely women I worked with in Lynchburg, Va. In my very first job out of college. They used to knit on their lunch hour and I was fascinated. They taught me how to knit a dish cloth. And let me tell you they were relentless, if I made a mistake they ripped it out with a laugh, right in front of my eyes! They will never know how they have changed my life.


2. Yarn, (please see above). I know I love it so much I had to add it in again. I learned to crochet from my Grandmother when I was very little. I made a granny square blanket for my stuffed rabbit Peter. I still have Peter and the blanket. I didn't crochet again until a couple of years ago when my lovely sister Claudia of http://mockingbirdhillcottage.blogspot.com/, refreshed my memory. And lets just say she has had to refresh it several times since.

3. And of course at the very top of my list is my family. This picture was taken a couple of years ago in Antigua. Yes, I am holding a giant sting ray. My family means more to me than anything. I am so blessed to have them even if they do drive me insane! My sons are 17 and 13 1/2. They are growing and thriving and for the most part very typical teenagers. While I think they should text me their where abouts more often, put away their laundry and get better grades. They are good boys and I love every single cell in their bodies.

Along with my boys and husband, I am thankful for all my In-Laws and my Niece and Nephews, and all their children, and all my extended family.

4. My husband and I have been married 18 1/2 years. We are still going strong which I am very, very thankful for. He is a great friend and a fantastic Father. We met on a blind date. I was working with a friend of his who pestered me for 3 weeks to go out with him. Our first date was a disaster, but my co-worker lied to him and told him that I really liked him and thought he was wonderful. As is typical of most men, he couldn't resist calling me after he heard this. I wasn't to thrilled to hear his voice on the phone, but after chatting for an hour I thought I would give him one more chance. We have been together ever since. As in most marriages everyday is not a piece of cake, but on the whole we have a very solid marriage. He makes me laugh and cry. He is solid through thick and thin. In this day an age a marriage of 18 years is to be celebrated!

5. I am thankful for my health and the health of my family. Minus the fact that I have a bladder infection at this time, I have been really healthy. Ten years ago I was diagnosed with Type II Hodgkin's Disease. After 9 weeks of pretty brutal radiation, and a year of waiting I was cancer free. I don't mind getting a year older because that is proof that I am still here.

6. On the same thought I am so thankful that my next door neighbor is home from her bone marrow transplant and is doing well. She had Hodgkin's Disease 15 years ago and came down with Leukemia due to her treatments. She has recently had a scan and is free of cancer at this point. She is getting stronger everyday. But now is the hard part, waiting and waiting and more waiting. I'll be here for her every step of the way.

7. My parents are still here and my Mother is now home from the rehab facility. It has been a long, slow process but as of this moment she is doing better. I know that this is a slight reprieve because she has been getting so much therapy, but I'll take what I can get. Its hard to see your parents declining a little at a time.

8. My sister Claudia is always here for me. She comes down to help take care of my parents if I ask. And even better she listens to me when I am totally going crazy. She calms me down and just lets me vent. My parents are difficult at best. They are lovely, but they are getting older and more needy. They aren't able to filter their thoughts and words as much so now there just seems to be more agitation between all of us. Claudia helps me remain calm through all of this storm. And I have to add that Claudia is probably the funniest person I know. When she starts laughing I can't control myself. Her laugh is beautiful and her smile is even better. Along with Claudia I am thankful for all my friends. This includes the ones I talk to all the time, and my college friends I talk to every few months but can call day or night. And of course all my blogging friends. You all have a special place in my heart.

9. I am thankful for my home. I am blessed to have a lovely home, filled with antiques, some of which are family heirlooms and some I have found. I would love to live on the water, or in the mountains. But for now I am happy to be here in my home with neighbors I love, making mostly happy memories as we go along.

10. I really love my job. I am a pediatric Occupational Therapist. I work mostly with babies exposed to drugs or alcohol in utero. I have seen some unbelievable changes in these babies. To think that I have had a part in molding their future is a gift to me everyday. Not all of them get better, but I can try to help them function at their highest level. Not every day is great, some days are pretty tough, but on the whole I have picked the right career. And only working 4 mornings a week helps me stay fresh. Taking care of my family is a full time job, so my therapy work is icing on the cake.

11. Wait I know I said 10 things, but I need to say something about Max. Max is the most wonderful dog in the world. He is a crazy sensitive, has food allergies, a bad hip, a disease that makes his facial muscles atrophy, and he happy pees when he is really happy to see someone. I wouldn't change a thing about him. It took me 15 years to talk my husband into a dog. When he finally said yes, we got Max the next week. He was the runt of the litter and has had more vet bills than I ever care to add up. He now weighs 85 pounds. But we are glad he picked us to be his family. He blesses our home every minute of the day.

Hope you all will write 10 things you are thankful for. Teresa, thanks for picking me and I hope I did you proud!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I'm In Love!!!!!!

Maybe a better phrase is, "I'm obsessed!" Once again I was blog stalking Teresa Kasner's blog at teresakasner.blogspot.com. She has some amazing crochet skills. She was making the Queen's Anne Crochet Scarf. Well I took one look at it and thought, I can do that. I googled the scarf. Came up with a pattern, and became incredibly obsessed. I am still working on the one above, but it is scarf number 3! This one is made from Kaffe fasset Colourscape Chunky. Pulled from my stash. It is fun to see this pattern in a chunky yarn. It has a much more 3-D effect. It will be perfect for my friend Lynda who lives in North Carolina.

Here is a picture of the three I have made so far. On the bottom in Noro Silk Garden. Another one of my stash yarns. It took a full skein and made a very light, airy scarf. Just above that is the one made with Mochi Plus, from Crystal Palace yarns. Smaller in diameter, more intense in color, and very, very, soft to the touch. The Kaffe Fassett is at the top. You can see the difference in size, but they are all great in ther own way. I made the Mochi scarf as I was waiting between prelims and finals of my sons state swim meet. It kept me as calm as I could possibly be. He made it to finals in both of his events. He ended up 5th on the 200 Im and 3rd in the 100 Breast. The top three got to go up on the podium. What a treat to see. His relay teams got 3rd and 4th. So he was up on the podium getting a medal in two events. What a stressful day! These kids will never know how hard it is on us parents watching them perform.

This was the start of it all. I downloaded the pattern for free. The colors are so fascinating in how they blend with each other. I am sure you can make it in a solid, but the color change was just what I needed especially after finishing the Big Red Monster.

Yes, here it is. 64 inches long, 62 inches wide. A Big Red Pain In My Butt. But my son really likes it. He came downstairs wrapped in it Sunday morning. So tired after his big day on Saturday. He reminded me of when he was little, sleepy and wrapped in a blanket. It was worth every minute of knitting, and worth every stitch, even if there were over 46,600 of them.

Thanks for all the positive swimming thoughts. They really helped.

Scarf

I have been having so much fun! This is the amazing yarn I purchased in Sarasota, at A Good Yarn. I made the scarf on size 17 needles, casted on 8 stitches and just knit.

This project was very fast as you can see. I wish I had bought many more skeins because I am not ready for the fun to be over yet. Of course last weekend I could have used the scarf as it was very cold outside at the swim meet. Today the high is 80 degrees.
I love the thin to thick quality of the yarn and these little tie ins of color make me feel like I am wearing a garden. If you need a quick gift I highly recommend this yarn. I believe it came in cream, black red and maybe green. Go have a look at agoodyarnsarasota.com.

I think it might be worth an hour and a half drive to pick up a few more skeins.

Don't forget to send my oldest some positive swimming vibes on Saturday as he comes up against the best high school swimmers in Florida and the High School State Meet.

If you try the link and it doesn't work I am sorry. I have checked and double checked and it is the correct address. www.agoodyarnsarasota.com

A Good Yarn

This past Saturday I was attending my oldest son's Regional High School swim meet. It was freezing out for a swim meet in Florida in November. The wind was relentless and the swimmers shivered on the blocks. Between prelims and finals we were driving to Panera, and what did I happen to see? A yarn shop called, A Good Yarn. As I was lunching with a fellow knitter we decided to stop by and have a look. It just happened to be the one year anniversary of the store. The place was packed with very lovely fiber people. The store owner was so nice and her husband, sister in law and everyone working at the store were lovely and gracious. As we left they gave us a little present, a little case to hold all your knitting trinkets.

I could have bought and absolute ton of yarn. The store was so open and wonderful, the selection was amazing. When I go to a new store I try to find something unique, something not easily found online, or at my local store. The items above are for my knitting group Christmas exchange. A pad of paper that says, "I'll show you my stash if you show me yours." A beautiful shawl closure and a little container with a pad of paper and post it notes to keep in your knitting bag. Do you think the members of my group will mind if I take my own present?

This beautiful yarn above is call Gulf of Mexico. The owner has several yarns specially died in certain colorway,s from under water pictures taken by a family member. The yarn above is very vibrant, and so soft. A dollar from each skein is donated to help clean up the oil spill in the gulf. This yarn came out a few days before the spill so the donations were a result of that. The person who dyes the yarn is also donating a dollar per skein.

This amazing yarn is.....well, amazing. It is wool, very chunky, from Pagewood Farms, called U-Knitted Nations. It is 50 yards, with these little scraps tied on. They look like flowers. I couldn't resist. I am making a scarf and having a great time. Really anything is fun to knit after I finished the Big Red Monster (my sons blanket). Pictures of that baby will follow in another post.

I think swim meets in Sarasota will be a lot more fun knowing I can stop by this wonderful store. If you are in the area, give yourself some time to stop by. By the way my boy qualified for the State Meet next Saturday. We will be off to Orlando very early for the day. Send him positive swimming thoughts if you don't mind.