When Life gets hard I make things............

When things get hard in life I make things.  It makes me feel better.  The feel of yarn traveling through my hands, it gives me peace.

I have been missing this lately, really there has been little time for creating, during the week I am just too tired.  I feel like I have lost my purpose a bit with yarn, I need to get back to it because it helps me stay grounded during my busy days.

This weekend has been so hard.  My oldest and two of his dear friends flew out to San Diego from all over the country to be with the family of their best friend.  They got in very late, they all met for the first time since the death of their beloved friend.  They celebrated his life with a paddle out on Del Mar Beach in the cold and windy weather Saturday morning.  Most people swam, my son and his friends were part of that group.  They threaded water for a long time, holding flowers in the air as the ashes of their dear friend were spread into the ocean.  They were there for his new wife, they were there for his family and they were there for each other.  I am so happy he could make the trip, it is the first step in the healing process.  The whole thing was covered live on the news in San Diego, over 11 minutes of coverage about a young man who was in the navy who lost his life way to soon.  Can you even believe that?  11 minutes of uninterrupted coverage of a ceremony to celebrate a life, that is amazing to me in this day and age of horrible news.  Today they are on their way home, it will take hours with layovers and time changes and I just have to say I can't wait to wrap my arms around my son and tell him how proud of him I am.

Late this morning the mother of the young man who passed away sent a group text to the mom's of the boys who are still here.  She said she was so proud of our boys, the men they have become, for being there for her family, when she hugged them it helped to soothe her soul.  That is about the most beautiful text I have ever received.  I wrote back that all of us have raised these boys in our own way, all of us have contributed to them growing up into the men they are, and that includes her.  So much sadness my friends, there is just so much sadness.

So after I sent her text back I went to my yarn stash because the one thing I can do for her is make her something.  I can make her a shawl that she may never even use, but it will be filled with love from me.  She can wrap it around herself when she is sad or lonely and know that love has been put into every stitch.  So that is where you will find me every minute I am free, creating something to represent the love I had for her son and the compassion I feel for her and her family during this horrible time.  I hope it is a hug that will help to soothe her soul, and I hope making it will help to soothe mine.

Hug your family and friends, life changes fast.

My hiatus continues..................

Just when I was attempting to pull things together we had horrible news Thursday evening.  One of Mr. 26's very best friends was killed in California after being hit by a car.  He was 25, in and Navy and just a wonderful young man.  Mr. 26 was part of a group of four young men who knew each other since middle school, they swam together, lived very close to each other and although all went to different colleges they remained so close all these years.  It is a tragic loss for so many people, the young man's family, the three young friends left behind, and for the driver of that vehicle and their family, no one will ever be the same.  So I am continuing to stay off the grid here, I am just trying to be present for my son when he needs me.  To love him and hug and help him through this horrible loss.

Hug your kids, your grand kids and all of their friends.  Life changes so quickly. 

A little bit of a funk and a finish..............

I have been in a bit of a funk these past few weeks and am finding it hard to pull out of it.  Nothing serious just general fatigue.  I will not watch or read the news, that is not going to help me at all.  I am just tired, I know I sound like a broken record but it is more of the same.  Blogging, while I love it, takes up energy to write, post and connect, energy I am missing I am afraid.  It will get better, it always does. So if I am missing that is why.  Nothing serious, just life. But as you all know there is just so much time and energy in any day and mine seems to be getting used up before I can pop on this computer.

We did get a surprise visit from Mr. 22 and Luna the grand-dog this weekend.  Mr. 22's best friends grandmother passed this pass week and he was home from school for the services.  Mr. 22 popped in with Luna to go visit with his friend and to attend the service, and we got to grand-dog sit for the night.  Bear did much better with Luna this visit.  He actually rolled over and licked her face right after this photo.  As you can see Bear was very excited to see his big brother.  Is there anything better than a bit of big puppy love?

Yesterday was cold, windy and rainy here in Florida.  I once again declared it a pajama day for one little boy who is so sweet and cozy in his pj's.  We had a TV free day, and for once I did not have a private patient.  I made gluten free cookies sweetened with agave.  I cleaned up here and there, did some laundry and got a bag of things ready to donate.  Little Buddy and I sat at the kitchen table doing games and puzzles and of course Mr/Mrs Potato Head.  We watched the boys run around with Luna, playing until they were all exhausted.  We had a nice visit with Mr. 22 before he headed back to Orlando.  I was happy to see Mr. 26 feeling good, he had been very ill most of the week and even missed work for a few days which is not like him at all.  I rested, went to bed early and just tried to be quiet.  It is what I need after work, homework with Little Buddy and all the ridiculous things happening out in the real world.  

I also had my first finish of the year which tells you something about my funk, usually I am on number two or three by now.   This is the Mezzaluna Wrap made with Lion Brand Hand Dyed Heaven.  I bought this a while back at my local Joann's store.  It is a lovely nylon blend that feels like cotton, but watch out if you steam block you might melt the yarn if your iron is too hot.  I used 2 1/2 skeins of this yarn so approximately 450 yards and I size H hook.  The border is something I made up on my own.  I made my first Mezzaluna way back in 2017, I wanted the border on this one to be different.  I plan to wear this more like a scarf.

I taught my good friend Joy how to knit many, many years ago.  She is an amazing artist, working mostly with pastels and watercolors.  Her work is so beautiful.  Knitting just never became her thing so recently she gave me this turquoise yarn when she was cleaning out all her knitting supplies.  I passed most of her things onto a friend but kept this yarn to make her something.  I tried to make another Mezzaluna yesterday but my brain was not working.  I started it over three times before I realized I should be doing something a lot more simple.  I started an Elise Shawl which I hope she will like.  It is such a simple yet beautiful pattern, one I have made many, many times.

And just in case you were missing Hank here he is.  The boys got haircuts last weekend so now they look a little funny.  They did not cut the hair on there head, but did so around their eyes so they look odd.  Well really Hank is just gorgeous in person but he does not look good in photos for some reason.  Last night he was exhausted from playing with Luna, he takes his job as an uncle very seriously.

Wishing you all a good week.  I promise to visit when I get my mojo back.  This morning I worked on a wonderful young man living with debilitating Lyme's disease, that took a bit out of my energy reserves so I am going to rest the rest of the day.  So sorry I have not been visiting.  You all mean so much to me and I feel a bit lost without connecting to you.  Hopefully I will be back on my game by next weekend.  Have a great week.

Just some regular busy days......................

To be honest my friends we have just been busy with regular stuff.  Nothing that outstanding, just life.  Last weekend I was battling my after Botox shots for headaches headache.  It can be pretty brutal and seems to have lasted much of the week and into this weekend.  It will all get better soon, or so I hope.  In the midst of all that headache pain there has been work, homework, a little boy who had his every three month throw up right in my husbands car, a leaking refrigerator on a late Friday evening, and oh I almost forgot two escaping boys who luckily came right back home when I called them except I was already in my car looking for them.  My neighbor caught them and they were home by the time I realized I had on no shoes and had no phone in case someone found them and called me.  Those two are so, so naughty!  Don't let their sweet expressions fool you.  

After their great escapade they were in time out in their crate for two hours.  I was mad at them for two days.  My husband kept saying they did not know why I was mad but I can tell you from a mother's perspective that they sure did.  I did not even give them a kiss on their sweet little faces until Wednesday morning.

I bought these awesome slippers at Walmart a week ago, of course it turned very warm after that.  Still I am keeping up hope I can wear them this week as the weather is expected to be colder.  One of my medical foster mom's had them on and I fell in soft, warm, cozy love with them.

Little Buddy received a lovely surprise in the mail from a wonderful blogging friend.  He loves this fun write on screen and played with it a long time yesterday.  It was a fun break for him because we were trying to complete a big school project on fairy tales.  We picked the book Aladdin and he really loved it.  He had lots of drawing, coloring and typing to do yesterday.  We still have more to go this afternoon.  We have two weeks to get it done but I can't do it during the week and next Friday are his Botox shots for leg muscle tightness.  He can sleep a lot and be very sensitive when he gets these, better to plan for a stress free weekend next weekend if I can.

That little boy and I better get busy on that project.  Wish me luck, my patience is not at an all time high because of my head.  How are you?  What's new?

A lazy day at home......

Yesterday was so nice. We stayed at home all day long.  I did not have any private patients or paperwork to do for work.  I just had one little guy to entertain.  He declared it a pajama day, his second in a row I might add.  Well, what can I say about that?  No one needs to get dressed on a windy rainy day while you have nothing planned.

We played games, he made a puzzle.  He rode his little green car thingy and watched a bit too much TV.  We talked, got in a couple hugs and a few not nice words when we did not get our way.  Maybe those words were from me and not Little Buddy, I can't remember.  And the best thing of all is I knit and did some crochet.  I sat my behind down while this little one did his puzzle, ate, chatted, ate, played a game, ate........ and played with yarn.  A whole rainy day to play, now that is something special!  I worked more on my Happy Harvest Vest and started a Mezzaluna Shawl.  One of my fingers has really been giving me a problem when I knit so I decided to crochet to relieve the pain a bit.  I felt like I was in paradise, nothing much to do but just be home.  

Today more of the same with a few errands to do and a return of my grand-dog for the night while Mr 22 goes to visit a friend.  I hope to be home for much of the day, dog sitting, dog entertaining and dog chasing, and maybe another episode of Outlander to watch while I play with yarn.  You were all right it is addicting and once you get past some of the brutal scenes in season 1 it gets much better.  The costumes are amazing.  Claire get back to Jamie, please!

There is no major cleaning to do, no homework, and no work for me.  Monday we return to normal with crazy schedules and a busy life.  Today I am going to relish the peace and slowness of the day.

How is your day going?

Happy 2020!

Happy New Year everyone!  Hope you had a wonderful time whatever you did to enter in the new decade.  I did what I always do, my house was super clean and all the Christmas decorations were down.  We had clean sheets, towels and clothes to start the New Year off fresh.  I don't even want dust from the past year to follow me into the next year.  I was in bed early and asleep when the neighbors set off fireworks at midnight.  I turned up my white noise sound machine and fell back to sleep.  I don't want to wake up tired or cranky on the first day of the new year.  My oldest was out at a friends with his girlfriend, Mr 22 and his girl friend were in Indiana visiting her family.  Little Buddy was fast asleep so that was just perfect.  No need for a cranky sleep deprived little boy on January 1st. 

 Speaking of a cute little boy, Little Buddy and I went to the zoo to celebrate the brand new year.  He went on all of his usual rides and loved them, then he said he wanted to go on the roller coaster and I tried to change his mind.  He gets very nervous before the rides begin, even the carousel that we went on four times.  He covers his ears and looks a wee bit panicked.  There was no way I thought he could handle the roller coaster.  But he said he could so we gave it a try.  It is a kids coaster, not a grown up super fast amusement park ride, still it was fast, and turned in two complete circles and guess what, he loved it!  So we had to go on it again!  He is getting braver and braver my little one.  He was just so proud of himself as he should be. By the way we did visit lots of animals, too!

Today Mr 22 and his long time girlfriend made it home from Indiana and packed up and headed back to Orlando.  They will be missed.  I have enjoyed my time with them and even enjoyed Ms Luna who ate my rug, pooped on my carpet, pooped outside on my lanai, peed on my floor, and peed on my bed and Little Buddy's!  Still she is not even one yet and she was definitely setting this house as her turf.  The boys are now exhausted.  Hank has been playing with her nonstop and Bear has been watching and reprimanding her all day long.  They have their roles as uncles and they take them seriously!  By the way my Christmas cactus's were incredible this year.  They bloomed just in time for the holiday.  

Did any of you play this game when you were younger?  I played it with my sister who I assume inherited it from my sister Claudia.  I loved, loved, loved it.  I found this at Home Goods and had to buy it.  I played it with two young teenagers I work with on Tuesday and we had so much fun.  Turning the door nob to see if you had the right date to match you cards was a hoot.  I kept getting the, "dud" and had to turn in all my matching outfit cards.  We had a great time.

I am not going to get all nostalgic about last year, it was tough in many ways and wonderful in others.  I did complete 16 projects and used 11,385 yards of yarn.  That is at least something!  I am not going to have a big review because it is time to move forward.  No words to base my year on, or even specific goals to try.  I am just going to try to do my best because really what else is there?  Be kind to others, be kind to myself, be as healthy as possible, rest when possible, help as many people as I can and just do my best.  Simple, simple, simple.

Happy New Year my friends.

What a wonderful day................

Hello my friends.  Did you make it through the day yesterday?  We did and really it was very nice, busy but nice. 

Every Christmas Eve Little Buddy sleeps in our room so he doesn't disturb Santa when he comes down the chimney.  It is a tradition we started with my older kids although for some reason Mr 26 and Mr 22 declined the offer the last few years.  We bring his mattress into our room and he sleeps snug as a bug until about 6:30 and wakes me up.  He drinks milk while I drink tea,  we snuggle and watch Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer together, chat and snuggle some more until two older brothers wake up and come down to join us.  There is a strict rule here everyone must be downstairs and ready to go by 9!

Santa presents are opened along with stockings then we eat breakfast.  After breakfast clean up it is back to opening presents from the family.  Lots of fun was had by all especially from one little boy who got his Peppa Pig House from Santa and lots of other Peppa Pig toys from Mom and Dad.

Little Buddy also got the whole Judy Moody Book series and the first Magic Tree House series.  We are big readers and now so is he.  My favorite time of the day is snuggling at night in the rocking chair as her reads before bed.

A friend dropped off this train for Little Buddy on Tuesday, apparently Santa left it at her house by mistake!  It was nice for him to have something new to play with before the big day.

Today we went to Physical Therapy and then drove to see a friend of ours who is down in the area from North Carolina.  This is Linda, she is best friends with my best friend Lynda.  Yes, the two Linda's!  We met her and her step daughter for a quick lunch and had a wonderful time visiting. 

Now back to work tomorrow, to be honest I am not ready.  I am enjoying these three days off and finally today I feel like I can breath again after all the hectic preparation, wrapping, shopping and decorating.  I can finally relax, well that is until this weekend when it all comes down and gets put away, ready for a clean start to the New Year.

How was your holiday?